The Advocate newspaper in Barbados offers commentary on a lecture recently given by that country’s Prime Minister, in which he advocates Caribbean cooperation on sustainable energy planning and development:
SOMETIMES it is hard to imagine that the Caribbean, blessed with what is said to be an array of renewable energy and energy systems, remains trapped in a state of having to fork out enormous sums annually for energy imports.
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It has long been recognised that the days of cheap oil, that is, oil at US$30 a barrel or less, are long gone. With the political instability still very prevalent in the Middle East where the bulk of the world’s oil imports originate, then collaboration or pursuing energy reduction policies has to be given priority.
The Prime Minister reasoned that the need to forge collaborative links with sister CARICOM countries in order to combat the challenge is self-evident.
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It is known that Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname, and to some extent Belize and Barbados are oil-producing states, although the last two do not come close to the others, and especially Trinidad and Tobago. There is an abundance of hydro-electric power in Guyana and also in Suriname, and geothermal energy in some of the other territories, notably in Grenada, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis.
What therefore is holding up the Caribbean collaborating in the area of energy and renewable energy projects that would bring them both social and economic benefits?
