October, 28 2015, 11:30am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Gaelle Gourmelon, Communications Director
Phone: +1 (202) 745-8092 x 510
E-mail: ggourmelon@worldwatch.org
First-Ever Sustainable Energy Roadmap for the Caribbean Launched
WASHINGTON
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has receivedrecommendations for reaching an ambitious regional target of 48% renewable energy generation by 2027. The Caribbean Sustainable Energy Roadmap and Strategy (C-SERMS) Baseline Report and Assessment, released today by the Worldwatch Institute, also suggests a 33% reduction in the region's energy intensity. Achieving these sustainable energy goals would result in a 46% decrease in carbon dioxide emissions over the period. The report details a work program of Priority Initiatives, Policies, Projects, and Activities (PIPPAs) as concrete steps for achieving these ambitious but feasible objectives. Supporting the full report are two slide decks visualizing the report's main findings as well as the energy situations of individual CARICOM Member States.
"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. "We were extremely excited two years ago when CARICOM Member States reviewed an early draft of this report at a Meeting of Energy Ministers and agreed on the preliminary goal of a 48% renewable electricity share. Today's updated and extended report adds energy efficiency and climate mitigation to the equation and is accessible to anyone in the region. It provides the analysis and tools necessary to realize the vision of an economically and environmentally sustainable Caribbean region.
Caribbean governments are increasingly aware of the enormous financial, environmental, and social costs associated with continued dependence on fossil fuels. Only one CARICOM Member State, Trinidad and Tobago, has substantial fossil fuel resources of its own. All others spend sizable shares of their gross domestic product-including at least a quarter of GDP in Guyana and Montserrat-on imported petroleum products. In Jamaica, the cost of electricity is four times that in the United States. And in Haiti and Suriname, large portions of the population still lack access to modern energy services.
These and other concerns have spurred a broad regional dialogue on improving energy security and independence, fostering sustainable economic growth, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions through the development and efficient use of local and renewable resources. CARICOM has aimed to provide guidance and support for Member States that are willing to transition to more sustainable energy systems. 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% renewables target. This commitment has since been lauded by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
"C-SERMS is pivotal to the attainment of the sustainable energy and development goals of the Caribbean Community. CARICOM envisions that implementing the C-SERMS Baseline Report and Assessment advances regional goals whilst simultaneously supporting Member States," says Devon Gardner, Program Manager for Energy in the CARICOM Secretariat and Head of the CARICOM Energy Unit. "All CARICOM Members have contributed to this Roadmap and the CARICOM Secretariat is excited to have this first in a series of assessments, which will provide guidance on the vision and strategy for building resilient energy systems within the region."
Established in 1973, CARICOM is a regional organization representing 15 Member States: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. Despite their diversity, CARICOM Member States, with a total population of over 17 million people, face many shared energy challenges.
For most Caribbean states, 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. As a consequence, national debts rise at the expense of a country's financial ratings, and high electricity tariffs discourage economic development and foreign investment well beyond the energy sector. Additionally, all CARICOM Member States share a particular vulnerability to the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of climate change, caused largely by the burning of fossil fuels. Impacts include sea-level rise, water scarcity, coral bleaching, and increased strength and frequency of tropical storms.
"Caribbean countries are, and increasingly will be, affected greatly by the negative consequences of global climate change," says Ochs. "They have a strong incentive to demonstrate to other countries that it is possible to reduce climate-altering emissions quickly. But even if the problem of global warming did not exist, and the burning of fossil fuels did not result in extensive local air and water pollution, CARICOM Member States would still have a mandate to transition away from these fuels as swiftly as possible, for reasons of social opportunity, economic competitiveness, and national security. They owe it to their people."
Significant renewable energy resources exist across the CARICOM region and have yet to be fully harnessed, including biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, waste-to-energy, and wind. There are also tremendous opportunities to dramatically improve energy efficiency. However, realizing these sustainable energy potentials in the region will require a robust and dynamic framework of policy and legislation that, so far, remains inadequate. Although all CARICOM Member States have national energy strategies in some stage of development or implementation, most of these lack a coherent long-term vision and concrete policies and measures. Efforts so far have been disjointed and incomplete, and they face a variety of technical, financial, institutional, and capacity barriers.
The C-SERMS Baseline Report and Assessment aims to serve as a key planning tool for tackling existing barriers and communicating priorities that allow for a swift transition toward sustainable energy systems in CARICOM Member States. 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 distinguishes actions to be taken at the regional or national levels, or both, and specifies the required timeframes. It also highlights three broad priority areas for future action: transportation, regional energy trade agreements, and the water-energy-food nexus.
"Sustainable, reliable, and affordable energy can be provided throughout the Caribbean, and this report helps us see how," says Andreas Taeuber, leader of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technical Assistance (REETA) project, which supports the CARICOM Energy Unit in fulfilling its political mandate. REETA is a project of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), which has supported the C-SERMS project and its Baseline Report from its inception. The Inter-American Development Bank also provided support for the project.
"Through regional collaboration, CARICOM Member States have a tremendous opportunity to spearhead sustainable energy development region-wide," says Gardner. "Full transformation of the region's energy sector will be a long-term process, requiring extensive and dedicated collaboration among Member States as well as regional and international actors. 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."
The C-SERMS Baseline Report and Assessment is the latest outcome of Worldwatch's longstanding and intensive engagement in the Caribbean and Central America. The Institute also recently published national sustainable energy roadmaps for the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica, as well as regional studies of Central America and Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Worldwatch Institute was a globally focused environmental research organization based in Washington, D.C., founded by Lester R. Brown. Worldwatch was named as one of the top ten sustainable development research organizations by Globescan Survey of Sustainability Experts. Brown left to found the Earth Policy Institute in 2000. The Institute was wound up in 2017, after publication of its last State of the World Report. Worldwatch.org was unreachable from mid-2019.
LATEST NEWS
Trump Signs Executive Order to Advance 'Deeply Dangerous' Deep-Sea Mining
"The harm caused by deep-sea mining isn't restricted to the ocean floor: It will impact the entire water column, top to bottom, and everyone and everything relying on it," one campaigner warned.
Apr 24, 2025
Amid global calls for a ban on deep-sea mining to protect marine ecosystems, U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to advance the risky practice and "restore American dominance in offshore critical minerals and resources."
"The broad order avoids a direct confrontation with the United Nations-backed International Seabed Authority and seeks essentially to jump-start the mining of U.S. waters as part of a push to offset China's sweeping control of the critical minerals industry," notedReuters, which had previewed the measure aimed at attaining nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese, titanium, and rare earth elements.
"The International Seabed Authority—created by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which the U.S. has not ratified—has for years been considering standards for deep-sea mining in international waters, although it has yet to formalize them due to unresolved differences over acceptable levels of dust, noise, and other factors from the practice," the agency reported.
Trump's order directs Cabinet members including Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick—whose department oversees the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)—to expedite the permit process and work on various related reports.
"Authorizing deep-sea mining outside international law is like lighting a match in a room full of dynamite—it threatens ecosystems, global cooperation, and U.S. credibility all at once."
Deep-sea mining is opposed by over 30 countries as well as academics and advocacy groups worldwide. Among them is Greenpeace USA, whose campaigner Arlo Hemphill said Thursday that "authorizing deep-sea mining outside international law is like lighting a match in a room full of dynamite—it threatens ecosystems, global cooperation, and U.S. credibility all at once."
"We condemn this administration's attempt to launch this destructive industry on the high seas in the Pacific by bypassing the United Nations process," Hemphill declared. "This is an insult to multilateralism and a slap in the face to all the countries and millions of people around the world who oppose this dangerous industry."
"But this executive order is not the start of deep-sea mining. Everywhere governments have tried to start deep-sea mining, they have failed. This will be no different," he added. "We call on the international community to stand against this unacceptable undermining of international cooperation by agreeing to a global moratorium on deep-sea mining. The United States government has no right to unilaterally allow an industry to destroy the common heritage of humankind, and rip up the deep sea for the profit of a few corporations."
No exaggeration, deep sea mining could cause the massive collapse of the entire deep sea ecosystem and food chain. This is an existential risk to every person on this planet. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/24/c...
[image or embed]
— Alejandra Caraballo (@esqueer.net) April 24, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Ocean Conservancy vice president for external affairs Jeff Watters also blasted the move, saying that "this executive order flies in the face of NOAA's mission. NOAA is charged with protecting, not imperiling, the ocean and its economic benefits, including fishing and tourism; and scientists agree that deep-sea mining is a deeply dangerous endeavor for our ocean and all of us who depend on it."
"Areas of the U.S. seafloor where test mining took place over 50 years ago still haven't fully recovered," Watters pointed out. "The harm caused by deep-sea mining isn't restricted to the ocean floor: It will impact the entire water column, top to bottom, and everyone and everything relying on it. Evidence tells us that areas targeted for deep-sea mining often overlap with important fisheries, raising serious concerns about the impacts on the country's $321 billion fishing industry."
He highlighted that "NOAA is already being threatened by this administration's unprecedented cuts. NOAA is the eyes and ears for our water and air. NOAA provides Americans with accessible and accurate weather forecasts; it tracks hurricanes and tsunamis; it responds to oil spills; it keeps seafood on the table; and so much more. Forcing the agency to carry out deep-sea mining permitting while these essential services are slashed will only harm our ocean and our country."
"It's not just our country this executive order would harm: This action has far-reaching implications beyond the U.S.," Watters added, warning that by unilaterally allowing deep-sea mining, "the administration is opening a door for other countries to do the same—and all of us, and the ocean we all depend on, will be worse off for it."
As The New York Timesreported:
The executive order could pave the way for the Metals Company, a prominent seabed mining company, to receive an expedited permit from NOAA to actively mine for the first time. The publicly traded company, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, disclosed in March that it would ask the Trump administration through a U.S. subsidiary for approval to mine in international waters. The company has already spent more than $500 million doing exploratory work.
"We have a boat that's production-ready," said Gerard Barron, the company's chief executive, in an interview on Thursday. "We have a means of processing the materials in an allied friendly partner nation. We're just missing the permit to allow us to begin."
In response to the late March disclosure—which came during International Seabed Authority negotiations—Louisa Casson, senior campaigner for Greenpeace International, said that "this is another of the Metals Company's pathetic ploys and an insult to multilateralism. It shows that a moratorium on deep-sea mining is more urgently needed than ever. It also proves that the company's CEO Gerard Barron's plans never focused on solutions for the climate catastrophe."
"The Metals Company is desperate and now is encouraging a breach of customary international law by announcing their intent to mine the international seabed through the United States' Deep-Sea Hard Mineral Resources Act," the camapigner asserted. "This comes after the Metals Company has spent years exerting immense pressure on the International Seabed Authority to try and force governments to allow mining in the international seabed—the common heritage of humankind."
Casson stressed that "states, civil society, scientists, companies, and Indigenous communities continue to resist these efforts. Having tried and failed to pressure the international community to meet their demands, this reckless announcement is a slap in the face to international cooperation."
Less than a week later, the Norwegian deep-sea mining company Loke Marine Minerals declared bankruptcy—which Haldis Tjeldflaat Helle, a campaigner for Greenpeace Nordic, noted came "on the same day that we shut down a deep-sea mining conference in Bergen."
The Norwegian government in December halted plans to move forward with deep-sea mining in the Arctic Ocean, which Steve Trent, CEO and founder of the Environmental Justice Foundation, had called "a testament to the power of principled, courageous political action, and... a moment to celebrate for environmental advocates, ocean ecosystems, and future generations alike."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Doctors Without Borders Says Trump Aid Cuts 'Are a Human-Made Disaster' for Millions
"We are an emergency response organization, but we have never seen anything like this massive disruption to global health and humanitarian programs."
Apr 24, 2025
As the Trump administration, spearheaded by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, dramatically slashes U.S. humanitarian assistance, the international medical charity Doctors Without Borders warned Thursday that the cuts are already "having devastating consequences for people who rely upon aid" across the Global South.
"The U.S. has long been the leading supporter of global health and humanitarian programs, responsible for around 40% of all related funding," Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, said in a statement. "These U.S. investments have helped improve the health and well-being of communities around the globe—and totaled less than 1% of the annual federal budget."
"It's shocking to see the U.S. abandon its leadership role in advancing global health and humanitarian efforts."
However, with the Trump administration slashing funding for U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contracts by 90%, including for programs that fed and provided healthcare for millions of people and fought diseases like malaria and HIV/AIDS, MSF USA CEO Avril Benoît said there will be "more preventable deaths and untold suffering around the world."
"These sudden cuts by the Trump administration are a human-made disaster for the millions of people struggling to survive amid wars, disease outbreaks, and other emergencies," Benoît warned. "We are an emergency response organization, but we have never seen anything like this massive disruption to global health and humanitarian programs."
"The risks are catastrophic, especially since people who rely on foreign assistance are already among the most vulnerable in the world," she added.
Although MSF received no U.S. government funding, the group noted that "we work closely with other health and humanitarian organizations to deliver vital services, and many of our activities involve programs that have been disrupted due to funding cuts."
"It will be much more difficult and costly to provide care when so many ministries of health have been affected globally and there are fewer community partners overall," the group said. "We will also be facing fewer places to refer patients for specialized services, as well as shortages and stockouts due to hamstrung supply chains."
"It's shocking to see the U.S. abandon its leadership role in advancing global health and humanitarian efforts," Benoît said. "U.S. assistance has been a lifeline for millions of people... We urge the administration and Congress to maintain commitments to support critical global health and humanitarian aid."
The MSF warning comes after the United Nations World Food Program said earlier this month that the Trump cuts to lifesaving aid programs "could amount to a death sentence for millions of people facing extreme hunger and starvation."
Keep ReadingShow Less
UN Chief Urges 'Maximum Restraint' as India-Pakistan Tensions Flare After Kashmir Massacre
"Any issues between Pakistan and India, we believe can be and should be resolved peacefully through meaningful mutual engagement," said a spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.
Apr 24, 2025
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday led calls for India and Pakistan to "exercise maximum restraint" as the nuclear-armed neighbors took tit-for-tat measures against each other in the wake of Tuesday's massacre of 26 people in Indian-occupied Kashmir.
Pakistan warned India that it was committing an "act of war" by suspending the landmark Indus Waters Treaty, which allows both countries to share the vital river system's flow. Pakistan announced the suspension of trade and closed its airspace to Indian flights. Both countries closed border ports of entry, canceled visas, and took other measures against each other.
India said it was downgrading relations with Pakistan, whom it blamed for supporting "cross-border terrorism" after gunmen killed 25 Indians and one Nepali and wounded at least 17 others at a popular vacation spot in Pahalgam, Kashmir on Tuesday.
"May sanity prevail between both nations."
A front group of the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed mostly tourists.
Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif countered that his country's government believes "very strongly" that the attack "was a false flag operation."
Speaking Thursday, Stephane Dujarric, Guterres' spokesperson,
said that "we very much appeal to both the governments of Pakistan and India to exercise maximum restraint, and to ensure that the situation and the developments we've seen do not deteriorate any further."
"Any issues between Pakistan and India, we believe can be and should be resolved peacefully through meaningful mutual engagement," he added.
Progressives from both sides of the border echoed calls for restraint.
"We, the people of Kashmir, have already suffered so much over the years—and now, more than ever, we want peace to prevail in our homeland," Kashmiri social activist Jasib Shabir Bhat said on social media Wednesday. "We stand united for peace, for humanity, and for a better future for all."
Pakistani authori and activist Ehtesham Hassan wrote that "as a Pakistani who visited India and received immense love, I am devastated by the news from Pahalgam."
"I wish peace for the common people of India and Pakistan regardless of religion," Hassan added. "May sanity prevail between both nations."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular