The preparation of the Caribbean Sustainable Energy Roadmap and Strategy (C-SERMS) got a push start last month when US$400,000 in grant funding was made available after CARICOM and the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) formalized the Technical Cooperation Agreement.
The Technical Cooperation Agreement signed on October 25 by CARICOM Secretary-General, Sir Edwin Carrington and IDB Representative Marco Nicola provides for the execution of project activities over a 30-month period, according to a press release from the CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen.
The money will be used to finance a consultancy to assist in developing the C-SERMS.
The release said further that the objectives and characteristics of the C-SERMS will be to define a strategic and targeted regional approach to increasing the contribution of renewable energy, energy efficiency and bio-energy in the energy mix.
It will also set achievable short, medium and long-term targets (2015, 2020, 2025) and outline steps for specific actions at country and regional levels; as well as provide the basis for firm commitments by governments within CARICOM, and development partners in achieving these objectives. In addition it will allow for coordination, harmonization and optimization of efforts in sustainable energy development among energy sector stakeholders and identify potential synergies.
It will also provide a reference point or baseline for measuring progress in sustainable energy development within CARICOM, and be a dynamic and living document to be developed in phases and refined and updated over time.
The first phase C-SERMS will be developed based on existing resource assessment and information, including sector policy, legislation and regulations and refined periodically based on the results of new resources assessment, studies and initiatives.
The release noted that additional activities to be financed from the IADB grant resources include the design and operation of a Sustainable Energy Platform and the appointment of a Project Manager to support the CARICOM Energy Programme.
The money will also be used to provide training and build capacity for research and development in sustainable energy, as well as to design and prepare research and innovation projects.
The broad-based Sustainable Energy Platform will comprise stakeholders across the CARICOM Member States drawn from governments/public sector, private sector, non-Governmental Organizations and academia.
The Platform will primarily be responsible for revising the regional targets and strategies outlined in the C-SERMS for sustainable energy based on the changing landscape.
Moreover, the Platform will provide technical assistance to governments within CARICOM in screening requests for sustainable energy projects, mobilizing resources from bilateral and multilateral partners to finance pipeline projects and collaborating with the private sector to implement one or more sustainable energy demonstration projects.
The development and implementation of the C-SERMS was agreed to at the 20th Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Heads of Government of CARICOM held in Belize City, March 11-13, 2009, as a key climate change mitigation strategy, the release added.
