Caribbean Countries Lagging Behind on Renewable Energy Transition Targets: Concerns Raised by Regional Officials

Regional officials are concerned that Caribbean countries are significantly behind on their renewable energy transition targets.

In fact, chief executive officer of the Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator (CCSA) Raquel Moses said the goals set by some countries were not even enough to put a major dent in their fossil fuel use.

“What the global stocktake, sadly, will reveal is that we are far behind where we need to be, and it wouldn’t be so bad if where we’ve committed to be would take us where we need to go. The fact is, where we’ve committed to be is not going to take us where we need to go and we’re not even reaching that,” explained Moses.

She was speaking during a panel discussion in the Central Bank of Barbados Caribbean Economic Forum series on Wednesday night, on the topic What Does Moving to Green Energy Mean for Us?

Moses urged all stakeholders to play a greater role in accelerating the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

“So it is going to be a bit of a come-to-Jesus [moment] where everyone’s gonna have to decide, ‘okay, what does this really mean that we should do?’ . . . We treat the cost of the transition as though it is burning money. It isn’t. That is economic activity. What we need to make sure is that as much of that money that needs to be spent is spent within the region on solutions that we create,” she urged.

“So this is calling all entrepreneurs and solution providers. We may not be able to create big wind turbines but there are components of the solution set that we need that we can create, and we need to make sure that we are fixated on how we participate in this new economy.”

Moses said the CCSA is working with other organisations on creating a climate-smart map “to identify where we are against the objectives that we’ve set”.

Executive director of the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE) Dr Gary Jackson noted that ten countries in the region had set a goal to produce 100 per cent of their electricity needs from renewable energy sources by various dates.

He said more than half of countries in the Caribbean had a goal of producing more than 50 per cent of their electricity needs from renewable energy sources.

So far, Costa Rica and Suriname have achieved their goal of 100 per cent and 35 per cent of electricity generation from renewable energy sources, respectively.

In the case of Barbados, the Government is seeking to transition to 100 per cent renewable energy reliance by 2030. However, the country is still well below the 50 per cent mark with just about seven years to go.