Energy statistics vital
IT is being suggested that the Caribbean could benefit significantly from the creation of a regional co-ordinating agency for data.
That suggestion has come from Director of Economics at the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Dr. Justin Ram. He put forward the idea yesterday morning while addressing those attending the opening of the three-day Caribbean Renewable Energy Statistics Workshop, which is taking place at the Accra Beach Hotel.
“We all know we have capacity constraints and why not bring all of our capacities together and then we can get greater economies of scale from the production of our statistics. While we consider doing this in this time of the fourth industrial revolution, it becomes a lot easier if we were to do this digitally, utilising the many data points that we have all around us to find some way to gather data digitally,” he said.
Dr. Ram went on to say that they can leverage a “hub and spoke initiative”, as he noted that conversations have already started with the Statistical Department within CARICOM, to see how to best to establish a regional statistical agency that would then co-ordinate with satellite agencies within national jurisdictions. He made the comments while reflecting on the potential growth of the renewable energy sector across countries in the Caribbean and how statistics could help propel that growth.
“Barbados, for example, wants to have its energy coming totally from renewable sources by 2030. In order to achieve that we are going to need not only statistics, but very strong evidence-based analysis as we move along that path, and I imagine it is not only Barbados, but a number of other Caribbean countries are likely to have these type of targets in the near future,” he said.
Speaking to the media after the opening ceremony, he said countries in the Caribbean in respect of their growth rates per capita have been moving in the wrong direction.
He explained that while for most of the last two decades the region’s GDP per capita was above the world average, since 2016 it has been on a downward trajectory. With that in mind, he warned that should that continue, the future will not be a bright one for the Caribbean. The CDB official’s comments came as he explained that one of the main reasons for this decline has been because our levels of competitiveness are not where they should be.
“One of the reasons for that is the cost of energy and so we really have to think about how we move towards a new energy mix – a new reality for the region. And so I must say that it is great that a country like Barbados has taken the initiative to say that they are going to move towards 100 per cent renewables by 2030, and I imagine other types of objectives and goals will be considered in the near future for other Caribbean nations,” he said.
Ram noted that if our countries are going to transition and not be so heavily dependent on the use of fossil fuels for the generation of our electricity, we need really good energy data to help us chart that path. (JRT)