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In
November 1999, at the fifth meeting of the Conference of Parties
to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change, St. Lucia wrote
itself into the history books, as Mr. Bishnu Tulsie, head of the
St. Lucian Delegation announced the islands intention to become
a sustainable energy demonstration country setting an example for
other countries to follow. St. Lucia, like many of the other Small Island States in the Caribbean, relies heavily on expensive and environmentally damaging fossil fuels to meet its energy needs. In its quest for sustainable development, it has begun taking steps to diversify its energy sector by encouraging renewable energy and greater energy efficiency. By doing this, the island hopes to reduce its dependency on foreign sources of fossil fuels and also to preserve its precious natural heritage. “
by taking leadership, we want to send a positive message to the
Conference of the Parties and urge the world community to work toward
laying the groundwork for a sustainable energy future,” said Mr.
Tulsie. He went on
to mention steps that the St. Lucian Government will take for example,
eliminating duties and taxes on renewable energy systems. He added
that in addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, this initiative
will also help reduce energy bills ands insulate the island from
the impacts of unpredictable increases in oil prices. The
first step in this process is the development and implementation
of a comprehensive sustainable energy plan for St. Lucia.
This will be done with the assistance of the Climate Institute
an NGO group based in Washington.
“We hope this will catalyze a global green energy revolution,”
said Mr. John Topping, president of the Climate Institute.
Mr.Tulsie also called on the developed countries to assist
St. Lucia and other Small Island States in their energy transformation
plans and show similar initiatives in their own countries. St.
Lucia has obtained the support and assistance of the Climate Institute
the development of its sustainable energy plan.
According to Nasir Khattak of the Washington-based Institute,
its role is that of a catalyst to facilitate the development and
implementation of the plan. “We hope this will catalyze a global
green energy revolution,” he said.
(From left to right) The picture above shows Mr. Bishnu Tulsie (Chief Sustainable Development and Environment Officer/Ministry of Planning), Hon. Tom Roper (Climate Institute), Roger Taylor (Climate Institute) and Mr. Crispin d'Auvergne (Sustainable Development and Environment Officer) From 15th- 17th May of this year, three officials from the Washington- based Institute visited St. Lucia for discussions related to formulation of the sustainable energy plan. They held separate meetings with a number of public and private sector representatives including the Minister of Planning & Environment; the Minister responsible for Energy and officials from the electricity company and the St. Lucia Hotel & Tourism Association. They also attended a half- day meeting with all the major stakeholders. During their stay the team had the opportunity to visit the site of a proposed wind farm. Further details on the collaboration between the Climate Institute and the Government of St. Lucia can be found on the Institute’s web site: www.climate.org. |
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