BASSETERRE – Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris will be joining his colleagues from the Caribbean and the hemisphere at the United States-Caribbean-Central American (US-CCA) Energy Summit in Washington DC today and tomorrow.
The prime minister is accompanied by the Minister of Public Infrastructure with responsibility for Energy Ian Patches Liburd, Cabinet Secretary Josephine Huggins, and Justin Hawley, Representative at the Embassy of St Kitts and Nevis to the United States of America.
The discussions at the US-CCA Energy Summit will centre on increased collaboration in the region’s energy integration.
In April 2015, US President Barack Obama visited Jamaica and Panama. In Jamaica, he met with CARICOM leaders where he announced the launch of a Task Force for United States, Caribbean and Central American Energy Security to expand existing efforts and explore areas of progress and opportunity to achieve more reliable, sustainable and affordable energy throughout the region.
The US-CCA Energy Summit is a conclusion of the US-CCA Task Force and functions as an opportunity to highlight recent successes, discuss recommendations and identify the way forward to realize mutual objectives. Some of these objectives are to support efforts to reduce the vulnerability of small electricity markets in the two regions to global energy market volatility, and the boosting of competitiveness within the productive sectors to enhance economic prosperity and sustainable development within the region.
The Summit will include a closed-door Caribbean-focused session with US Vice President Joseph Biden, a Caribbean-focused public-private sector session and a plenary session with all participants. The engagement is a key component of the Caribbean Energy Security Initiative (CESI) that was announced by Biden in June 2014.
The Summit brings together government, finance, and private sector leaders from the US, the Caribbean and representatives of the international community to promote a cleaner and more sustainable energy future in the Caribbean through improved governance, energy diversification, greater access to finance and donor coordination.
St. Kitts and Nevis has committed to “go green” and has already been taking several renewable energy initiatives including geothermal exploration, the use of wind and solar energy, and intentions for waste to energy, thereby reducing the use of fossil fuel, which is costly and hazardous to the environment. (SKNIS)
