CASTRIES, St. Lucia, Feb 13, CMC – The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) has agreed to a decade of action for sustaining energy development and committing to achieving universal access to affordable, resilient, and reliable clean energy solutions across all member states.
The OECS groups the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, St. Kitts-Nevis, Montserrat and Anguilla.
The St. Lucia-based OECS Commission said that the commitment is contained in the landmark Basseterre Declaration that was adopted at the Third Council of OECS Energy Ministers meeting held in Basseterre earlier this month.
The Basseterre Declaration establishes the OECS Decade of Action for Sustainable Energy Development 2025-2035 and according to the OECS Commission, the “ambitious but practical agenda includes substantially increasing renewable energy generation capacity through solar, wind, geothermal, and green hydrogen projects specifically tailored to regional needs”.
According to the Declaration, the Decade of Action pledges tangible benefits for all OECS citizens including lower energy costs by reducing dependency on imported fossil fuels and adopting more energy efficiency, households and businesses can expect to spend less on energy.
It is also acknowledges that the sustainable energy transition will create new employment opportunities in renewable energy services, energy efficiency, e-mobility, and the green building sectors as well as diversifying energy sources and building more robust energy infrastructure will strengthen the region’s ability to withstand natural disasters and economic shocks.
The Declaration calls for redirecting funds from fuel imports to local investments will stimulate economic development across various sectors.
“The success of this initiative relies on collaboration between governments, private sector entities, and communities. The OECS Commission has been mandated to develop an OECS Sustainable Energy Greenprint, a comprehensive roadmap for action, advocacy, awareness, and progress monitoring throughout the Decade.”
The Commission said that this is directly aligned with the OECS Sustainable Energy Framework and builds on progress made through initiatives such as the Eastern Caribbean Solar Challenge and the OECS GEOBUILD geothermal energy development programme. These efforts ultimately contribute to the goal of clean and indigenous energy transforming and driving development in the OECS.
“The Basseterre Declaration comes at a pivotal moment when renewable energy is projected to become the world’s leading source of electricity generation this year, supplying more than one-third of global electricity needs, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA),” the Commission said.
It said that the ministers have called upon regional and international partners, private sector entities, financial institutions, and academic organisations to support this transformative agenda through technical cooperation, investment, and knowledge sharing.
“The sustainable energy transition represents a transformative opportunity for the economic reinvention of our region and stands as the unquestioned moonshot for Caribbean development, the Basseterre Declaration states, emphasising that this transition is not merely an environmental imperative but a socio-economic necessity to enhance resilience and reduce dependency on imported fossil fuels,” the OECS Commission added.
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