A comprehensive work program to achieve renewable energy generation has been outlined by CARICOM in the Caribbean Sustainable Energy Roadmap and Strategy (C-SERMS) Baseline Report and Assessment. The report includes concrete steps for achieving the 48 percent renewables generation target set for 2027. Priority Initiatives, Policies, Projects and Activities (PIPPAs) aim to tackle existing barriers and communicating priorities for a swift transition toward sustainable energy systems regionally.
“A month before the milestone United Nations climate summit in Paris, and on the day of the launch of the Caribbean Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, this report leads the way for CARICOM and its Member States to become global sustainable energy leaders,” says Alexander Ochs, director of climate and energy at Worldwatch and lead author of the report.
Caribbean governments are increasingly aware of the enormous financial, environmental and social costs associated with continued dependence on fossil fuels. Inefficient transmission and distribution networks, geographic remoteness, and steep topography increase the high costs of energy systems that rely on fuel imports.
The loss of large shares of GDP to energy imports diverts large sums that otherwise could be invested domestically. In 2013, the region reached a milestone when it adopted a regional energy policy—CARICOM’s first region-wide agreement on joint energy goals—that included the preliminary 48 percent renewables target. Suggested PIPPAs range from coordinated regional fuel efficiency standards and targeted model legislation on net metering, to the development of regional generation technology risk mitigation funds and country-specific electric system modelling efforts.
The report outlines actions to be taken at the regional or national levels, or both, and specifies timeframes. It also highlights three broad priority areas for future action: transportation, regional energy trade agreements, and the water-energy-food nexus. According to Devon Gardner, program manager for Energy in the CARICOM Secretariat and Head of the CARICOM Energy Unit and CREF 2015 speaker,
“The regional approach outlined by C-SERMS ensures that no Member State will travel this path alone, but instead will be supported by a network of actors and institutions, united under a common vision for sustainability.”
To read more about the roadmap for Caribbean Islands to be 48% Renewable by 2027, click here.
