INTRODUCTION
The CARIBBEAN RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAMME (CREDP) which commenced in 2004 is
financed by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF)
with additional support provided by the Government
of Germany through its aid agency the GTZ.
The CREDP Project was implemented/executed in
two components with the main GEF component (CREDP/UNDP)
being implemented through the UNDP and the CARICOM
Secretariat as the Executing Agency. Since 2008
CREDP/UNDP has been managed under the recently
established CARICOM Energy Programme.
The other GTZ component (CREDP/GTZ) is being
executed by Projeckt Consult and has been based in
St Lucia. The main component CREDP/UNDP comes to an
end in December 31, 2009, while the CREDP/GTZ has
entered a second Phase since May 2008 with
additional funding and broadened scope and runs
until 2012.
Participating countries: The Bahamas;
Barbados; Belize; Cuba; Dominica; Grenada; Guyana;
Jamaica; St. Kitts and Nevis; St. Lucia; St Vincent
and the Grenadines; Suriname; Trinidad and Tobago.
Most are Small Island Developing States or low-lying
coastal states, and net importers of energy, almost
entirely in the form of petroleum. Energy imports
are a critical element of the national budgets for
most countries of the Region and balance of payment,
in the countries of the Region’s balance of payments
management.
The main objective of the Project is to
remove the existing barriers to increased
utilization of renewable energy in the Caribbean
through various coordinated interventions at the
national and regional levels.
As the main component CREDP/UNDP comes to a close
within the context of the wider CARICOM Energy
Programme, it was seen as critical to consult with
Ministries responsible for Energy within the CREDP
countries to capture their commitment to facilitate
renewable initiatives in the project network: the
Region in general.
In an interactive approach, the CARICOM
Secretariat (Energy Unit and Public Information
Unit) embarked on face-to-face consultations with
the Energy/Renewable Energy Constituency in Member
States; Ministers, Ministries and Departments of
Energy, Utilities, and universities in the Region in
2009.
This series of transcripts of interviews
conducted by Carlton James, Advocacy and
Communications Adviser, CARICOM Secretariat, as well
as the slide presentations are outputs of those
consultation
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