From:TheBahamasWeekly.com
OAS Organizes Workshop to Review Sustainable Energy Initiatives in the Caribbean
By OAS
Aug 19, 2014 - 2:59:26 PM
Representatives
of regional and global development partners in the energy sector of the
Caribbean are today meeting with senior energy officials from Caribbean
countries in a regional workshop organized by the Organization of
American States (OAS) in Saint Lucia aimed at strengthening the
effectiveness of donor interventions in the region.
The regional workshop, entitled “Development of Sustainable energy
projects: experiences, strategies and implementation,” organized by the
Department of Sustainable Development of the OAS in the framework of
the Sustainable Energy Capacity Building Initiative (SECBI) of the
Energy and Climate Change Partnership of the Americas (ECPA), has
brought together the major donor partners involved in the energy sector
in the region against the backdrop of increased activity toward the
transformation of the energy outlook of the Caribbean.
During the workshop, representatives of major development partners
including the Carbon War Room, the Caribbean Development Bank, the
European Union and the United States Department of State are discussing
with country representatives which interventions have been successful,
as well as identifying their priority activities in the short to medium
term.
Addressing the opening of the workshop, the Director of the
Department of Sustainable Development of the OAS, Cletus Springer,
applauded what he called “the renaissance” that is taking place in the
energy sector of the Caribbean. He noted that while the region was
making strong strides towards sustainable energy pathways, it was
critical that this be done within a coordinated and strategic framework
that allows countries to learn from each other.
During his remarks, the Minister for Public Service, Sustainable
Development, Energy, Science and Technology of Saint Lucia, James
Fletcher, highlighted the importance of sustaining efforts to transform
the energy sector in the region. He noted that current energy rates in
the region are undermining the competitiveness of productive sectors and
must be addressed, if the region is to stand any chance of boosting its
sustainable development.
This is the second workshop on Strengthening Energy Capacity
Sustainability offered by SECBI under the framework of the Energy and
Climate of the Americas (ECPA). The workshops seek to encourage debate
and promote better understanding on topics needed to addresses critical
commercialization challenges related to encouraging less environmentally
harmful energy technologies. The work being done by the OAS through
this initiative in the Caribbean seeks to facilitate the transition
toward a market that favors diversified energy technologies with low
carbon emissions and reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels, whose
high and fluctuating values have a negative impact on the trade balance
of small island states.
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