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 German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).
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 component funded by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), CREDP/GIZ, is being executed by Projekt Consult and has been based in Saint Lucia. The main component CREDP/UNDP comes to an end in December 31, 2009, while the CREDP/GIZ 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 consultations.
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