By: Kimberly Ramkhalawan
March 22, 2022
Steps to be taken collectively as a region to see the energy transition safely and successfully is dependent on what is known. Data and information provided so far show that the region is home to over 18m people in the region, the opening statements from Dr Gary Jackson of the Caribbean Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE) revealed at its Energy Statistics and Information Conference.
The conference sees the introduction of CARICOM Energy Knowledge Hub’s (CEKH) new data portal with a renewable energy and energy efficiency donor activity application and the CARICOM Energy Information System developed by the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE) and comes at a time when Caribbean nations have made a commitment to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and embrace natural resources such as solar and wind, all low carbon strategies.
While it is said that some CARICOM Member States are making good progress in the adoption of energy efficiency applications and renewable energy technologies, there still remains a need to ensure that decisions and planning are supported by fact based scenarios and information. The CARICOM Secretariat and the Caribbean Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in collaboration with development partners have developed a Program of Work for the enhancement of energy data, statistics and information within the region. The absence of data has been highlighted as one of the major challenges for public and private institutions to provide decision-support that is based on empiricism, which effectively erodes the confidence and effectiveness in energy planning, in general, and renewable energy integration, in particular, within the region.
Rodinald Soomer, CEO of Caricom Development Fund says the problem of consistent data in the region for policy making was an issue, with it now becoming critical to attracting investors, particularly to those across the renewable energy value chain.
Dr. Justin Ram, Economic Consultant and former Director of Economics at the Caribbean Development Bank in delivering the keynote address of the Caribbean Energy Statistics and Information Conference, presentation focused piecing together the linkages energy data collating had on everyday life in the region, from high unemployment rates plaguing the region, to the food we eat, he highlighted the importance of energy statistics and data to the transition to renewable energy in the region, and its importance even more at this juncture.
He added that there was a need to have a single economic space in the region, and the connection lied, in creating a more competitive space in the world. Energy prices whether price of electricity, susceptibility to volatile oil and gas prices makes the region less attractive to manufacturers looking for a space even if there are positives in the positioning of Caribbean states. Using the illustration of the cost of KFC meals with , Dr. Ram says Caribbean economic volatility has to do mainly with its high import bill. He reiterated the call for installed generation capacity to focus on other sources of energy away from the reliance on fossil fuels.
During the opening session and concurrent launch of the CARICOM, OLADE’s Executive Secretary, Numar Alfonso Blanco-Bonilla remarked that, “we have a very important commitment to the region to improve the quality and quantity of information on the energy sector; that is important information we need for the region to achieve our environmental and development goals.”
Ayanna Evelyn of CCREE provided how the hub would be utilized as the CARICOM Energy Information System. The hub targets a variety of people, including policy makers, business investors and academics in need of data, which works with ministries across the region.
The Conference received financial support from the Kingdom of Spain and the Germany’s GIZ, which implemented Technical Assistance Programme for Sustainable Energy in the Caribbean, which is funded by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.