Business Monday: Region must seize energy investment opportunities

BARBADOS and other Caribbean countries are being encouraged to go after the investment opportunities which the recent European Union Caribbean Sustainable Energy Conference has explored.

The new Head of the European Union Delegation in Barbados,  Daniela Tramacere, threw out this challenge to regional countries, as she brought the curtain down on the two-day conference at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Conference Centre.

Delivering the closing remarks, Tramacere said that the two days of deliberations demonstrated that there are many opportunities to re-think how to generate, and consume energy in a sustainanble and efficient way.

The Ambassador said they believed that with improved regulatory framework, “the opportunities can become more attractive in the near future”.

“So the politicians should get their act together right now,” advised the EU Official.

She reasoned that it is up to the Caribbean countries to determine how fast they want to make this energy transformation, since the Europeans are looking forward to it.

The Ambassador remarked that the main lesson the Caribbean ought to learn from the experience of the EU is that the crux of the energy transformation lies with the appropriate and sustained political will for the long term.

Querying what’s next for the countries, Tramacere indicated that the yea-long sunshine, which attracts visitors from around the world to the Caribbean, can be leveraged by the region to develop renewable energy.

She also reasoned that together with solar, the Caribbean nations have plenty wind, ocean and geothermal potential. In addition, she maintained that governments have all embraced this course to create an enabling environment, with targets and policies to develop their renewable energy potential.

The EU official argued that this must be done given the fact that many countries in this region are highly dependent on imported fossil fuels.

According to her, this is mission critical for achieving national energy security, independence and efficiency. So there is work to be done.

The Ambassador added that there must be more regional co-operation in going after the opportunities.