Bahamas News
CDB Meetings reveal Caribbean lagging in Renewable Energy, Billion$ needed to cross the line
By Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
June 15, 2022 – We need to find a way to lower our energy bills with renewable energy options and it’s going to take billions, but the CDB is proposing a new program to tackle it.
The CDB Accelerated Sustainable Energy and Resilient Transition 2030 (ASERT) will address volatility in the energy sector which is one of the most important challenges for the region. The CDB says they are aiming to fix the issues
and push the Caribbean towards more sustainable energy use with ASERT.
If we don’t channel our efforts into renewable energy our countries will end up being less climate resilient, there will be “major risks to poverty reduction efforts, the undermining of economic resilience efforts and risks of missing green trade opportunities”
This is according to Sustainable Energy Specialist Christopher Straughn who presented during the annual general meeting on Friday June 3rd. Straughn explained that most Borrowing Member Countries (BMC) experienced “energy insecurity” because of factors like their over dependence on one main source of energy, usually oil.
Straughn made the case that the region was full of renewable energy options but in order to harness them the sector requires 16 times more cash investments than it has now (about 1.25 billion.) He also noted that Borrowing Member Countries need to install 26,000 MW of renewable energy capacity of 1400 percent increase over the current rate to hit their 2030 goals.
The fact that oil is imported and demands foreign exchange for purchase is also a downside, as prices for shipping and raw material were subject to “market vagaries and geopolitics”
That is especially obvious this year as the Caribbean region has seen steeply rising oil prices as shipping companies raise prices and the war in Ukraine and embargos on Russian oil put a squeeze on the amount of oil available for purchase worldwide.
Even prior to the extreme insecurity of 2021 the combined Fuel Import bills of the BMCs were staggering, clocking $8 billion USD. An additional $1.8 billion was added to that in just the first five months in 2022. These facts make the case for switching to renewable energy all the more compelling.
The Caribbean is not yet where it needs to be to meet its 2030 targets but some countries are doing better than others. Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis all set targets to have over 80 percent renewable energy in country by 2030. So far Belize and Dominica are leading the pack being over the 40 percent mark. No other country has set such high performance targets or made it that far into their targets (almost 50 percent).
The Turks and Caicos Islands, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Grenada, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago all remain below 10 percent. This is where the ASERT-2030 Program comes in, there will be a robust dialogue to agree on transformative initiatives and strategize on how to move quickly but inclusively.
Some of those transformative initiatives include a resilient roofs initiative, wide scale greening of the public sector and harnessing offshore wind.
Bahamas News
Turks and Caicos Islands Hosts Fourth Round of Maritime Boundary Delimitation Talks with the Commonwealth of the Bahamas
PRESS RELEASE
FROM THE MINISTRY OF IMMIGRATION
AND BORDER SERVICES
Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands – The Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands, supported by the United Kingdom, and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, successfully held a two-day technical meeting on maritime boundary delimitation. This was the fourth
round of discussions to resolve boundary matters under consideration since initial discussions in 1992.
The two-day discussions, hosted by the Turks and Caicos Islands, were held in Providenciales on September 24th and 25th, 2024, and were focused on delimiting the maritime boundary between the Turks and Caicos Islands and The Bahamas in accordance with international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Senior officials and technical experts from each of the three countries engaged in productive discussions to advance mutual understanding and cooperation on this complex issue, with the ultimate objective of reaching an eventual and equitable maritime boundary agreement.
These negotiations represent a significant milestone in the ongoing efforts to clarify and formalize maritime boundaries, thereby fostering regional stability and enhancing relations between the involved parties.
Garfield Ekon
Staff Writer
The Bahamas, October 07, 2024 – Prime Minister of The Bahamas, Hon. Phillip Davis and His Highness Crown Prince Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah of Kuwait have expressed optimism about the finalisation of a Civil Aviation Agreement, which will enhance air connectivity between the two nations.
The two leaders who met on September 23, while in New York, the United States (US), where they participated in several concurring events of international importance, as they commemorated 30 years of strong diplomatic relations between The Bahamas and Kuwait.
In addition, they discussed pending initiatives such as agreements on double taxation, which are critical for advancing bilateral cooperation. The Kuwait Investment Authority also “signaled its interest in increasing investments in the Bahamas,” according to a release from the
Office of the Prime Minister.
According to the release, Prime Minister Davis highlighted the recent appointment of His Excellency Taran Mackey as Bahamian Ambassador to Kuwait, and discussed ongoing study for the redevelopment of Potters Cay, supported by the Kuwat Fund for Economic Development.
The Prime Minister used the opportunity to underscore The Bahamas’ vulnerability to Climate Change, and advocated for the swift operationalisation of the loss and damage fund, urging developed countries to take action.
His Highness expressed Kuwait’s understanding of the issue, and showed openness to further discussion on the matter. Both parties concluded the meeting with renewed commitment to strengthening diplomatic and economic ties.
Prime Minister Davis was accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Ryan Pinder, and Bahamas Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Stan Smith.
The Bahamas, October 6, 2024 – In 1978, I was the Director of News and Public Affairs at the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas. We were looking for talent. I spotted it. He was a sports writer at the Nassau Guardian. I agreed to hire him at the station, first in sports and then in news proper. That was the start of a storied career in broadcast journalism: a charismatic sometimes irascible cross
examiner who provided great entertainment and probing inquires for his radio audience both here and in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
It was helpful that I knew his mother because she was the mother of one of my closest friends and later Permanent Secretary Philip Miller. He came from good stock.
There is no doubt that Darold Miller transformed the era of talk radio in The Bahamas and became its leading star. We have lost that star in broadcasting today.
I wish on behalf of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, the leadership of our party, to extend condolences and that of my own and my family to his brothers Philip and Sammy, his sister Eunice and to Darold’s own family on his passing. This is very sad indeed. May he rest in peace.
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