“BUILDING RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE IN ISLANDS THROUGH THE ENERGY SECTOR: NORTH-SOUTH COOPERATION FOR SUSTAINABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT IN SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES”

Al Binger, PhDSenior Energy Science Advisor

&SIDS DOCK Coordinator

Caribbean Community Climate Change CentreBelmopan, Belize

More, Faster, Now! Closing the emissions gap – how to unlock mitigation potential on the ground

 

Global potential for energy efficiency ●Estimates of global potential for energy efficiency

are difficult to estimate and verify, must be built from bottom-up (ie: indiv. countries)

●Cases of Grenada and St. Vincent confirm large potential.

●New Climate Economy study estimates that if G-20 adopted strict energy efficiency standards, emissions would be reduced by 6.9 gigatons by 2030.

●Investing in improvements to meet standards leads to $18 trillion GDP

●1 Gigaton Coalition estimates on sample of projects analyzed that CO2 emissions could be reduced by 1.7 Gigatons by 2020 through actions taken in renewable energy and efficiency in developing countries.

“BUILDING RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE IN ISLANDS THROUGH THE ENERGY SECTOR: NORTH-SOUTH COOPERATION FOR SUSTAINABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT IN SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES”

North-South Cooperation: SIDS DOCK - the Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

Sustainable Energy and Climate Resilience Initiative Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Climate Change Centre

(5Cs/CCCCC) Swedish Energy Agency (SEA) CARICOM Pilot Countries: Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados,

Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines

“BUILDING RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE IN ISLANDS THROUGH THE ENERGY SECTOR: NORTH-SOUTH COOPERATION FOR SUSTAINABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT IN SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES”

“BUILDING RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE IN ISLANDS THROUGH THE ENERGY SECTOR: NORTH-SOUTH COOPERATION FOR SUSTAINABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT IN SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES”

Aim of the Partnership Development of renewable energy in Small Island Developing States

(SIDS), and in particular, the role of renewable energy and energy efficiency and conservation (RE & EE&C) in building resilience to climate change in islands

Development of a Methodology to identify this role of RE and EE&C, through the development of inter-related components that can define the role and those of the various actors at the individual, institutional and systemic levels

Development of a Draft Regional Programme for Building Resilience to Climate Change

WHAT’S NEW ABOUT THIS NEW PARTNERSHIP?NEW THINKING!

New thinking about future development has to have as a major focus on making the economy more resilient to the impacts of climate change - productive sectors have to become more integrated, promoting greater synergy among them

Critical to this new thinking is the role of the energy sector and how decisions for the provision of energy services can positively impact agricultural production, freshwater resources, waste management and the tourism industry, and result in greater climate resilience

New thinking is also required in identifying the means for financing the new approaches, given the debt situation in several small islands and the precarious conditions of the world economy

 

A PROCESS-BASED METHODOLOGY FOR INCREASING RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS IN SMALL

ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES (SIDS) THROUGH TRANSFORMATION OF THE ENERGY SECTOR

Activity 1 - Lay out a process for assessing the level of vulnerability of the economy to the impacts of climate change and potential consequences on the population and economy of Islands; and provide an appropriate methodology that can assist countries to make decisions on sustainable energy option

A PROCESS-BASED METHODOLOGY FOR INCREASING RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS IN SMALL

ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES (SIDS) THROUGH TRANSFORMATION OF THE ENERGY SECTOR

Activity 2 - Enhance understanding of how renewable energy and energy efficiency projects can help countries build climate resilience, as well as a review of the obstacles to greater deployment of renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency practicesActivity 3 - Identify priority actions to make the energy sector a foundation for climate resilient economies within the context of ongoing regional activities such as the CARICOM Energy Policy and Caribbean Sustainable Energy Roadmap and Strategy (C-SERMS), the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE), the Caribbean Development Bank’s recent energy policy; the 11 th EDF (European Development Fund), and the US-CARICOM energy security initiative

A PROCESS-BASED METHODOLOGY FOR INCREASING RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS IN SMALL

ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES (SIDS) THROUGH TRANSFORMATION OF THE ENERGY SECTOR

Activity 4 - Convene two regional workshops on renewable energy and energy efficiency for building climate resilience in Caribbean communities and national economies to share the information generated and to prepare a draft regional programme for building resilience to climate change

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROCESS-BASED METHODOLOGY (PBM)

To assist island governments to identify priorities in sustainable energy investments and facilitate the comparison of energy options for a better informed decision related to resilience to climate impacts

To lay out a process for assessing the level of vulnerability of the energy system and key sectors of the economy to the impacts of climate change and identify technical choices that could strengthen and/or assist in building resilience to climate change impacts

The critical output of this process-based methodology is to identify the key decisions that need to be made, when they need to be made and by whom, in order to achieve the desired outcome.

Decision-makers require tools to evaluate and prioritize among sustainable energy measures in small island states, targeting climate resilience, both social and environmental co-benefits. As defined here, measures can range from individual projects, to programs, policies and national strategies

Important Key Sectors of the Economy

Important key sectors include the energy, water, waste management, tourism and agriculture, sectors that have important inter-linkages and synergies within the context of SIDS documented vulnerabilities as articulated in the Barbados Programme of Action (BPoA 1994) and its further implementation under the Mauritius Implementation Strategy (MIS 2005) and the Samoa Pathway (S.A.M.O.A. 2014).

IMPLEMENTING THE PILOT PROJECT In 2014, the SIDS DOCK Steering Committee approved a Concept

Paper, developed in partnership with the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC/5Cs), the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) that provided the beginnings of a working definition of resilience – “Contribution to the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Apia, Samoa, 1 - 4 September 2014, Proposed Two-Day High Level Forum: Critical Role of the Energy Sector in Climate Resilience, Climate Change Adaptation and Sustainable Development in Small Island Developing States (SIDS), 2 - 3 September 2014”

Post-Samoa work included further narrowing and refinement of the definition with support in 2015 from the Swedish Energy Agency (SEA). A working definition of resilience, within the context of SIDS vulnerabilities was arrived at

 

IMPLEMENTING THE PILOT PROJECT: Working Definition of Resilience Building in SIDS

“The ability of a small island to become less vulnerable and more capable to respond and recover from the disruptions and destruction associated with increasing greenhouse gas concentrations, including more ferocious and frequent hydro-meteorological events, severe impacts from sea-level rise, and increasing ocean temperature and acidity, by development and efficient use of the natural resource endowment. The ability to respond and recover is linked to national capacity which determines the ability to extract and efficiently utilize energy, food and water from the natural resource base”

IMPLEMENTING THE PILOT PROJECTTimeline of Activities Post-Samoa

January 2015 – Swedish Energy Agency (SEA) and SIDS DOCK begin formal discussions on development of the pilot project

February 2015 - Swedish and Caribbean Consultants contracted to assist with the development of the methodology led by a team from the SEA and SIDS DOCK

May 2015 – First SEA/SIDS DOCK Mission to Grenada - a necessary part of the first phase of the project, and to facilitate preparation of the Grenada Case Study. The primary goal of the mission is to close information gaps, conduct face-to-face interviews, and to consult with key decision-makers and stakeholders in public and private sector agencies/institutions/organisations, particularly in the areas of energy, water, agriculture, tourism, and waste management.

July 2015 – Second SEA/SIDS DOCK Mission to St. Vincent and the Grenadines

 

IMPLEMENTING THE PILOT PROJECTTimeline of Activities Post-Samoa

August 2015 – First SEA/SIDS DOCK Follow-up Workshop, Grenada October 2015 – Second SEA/SIDS DOCK Follow-up Workshop, St.

Vincent and the Grenadines September –December 2015 – Preparation of Country Reports by

Working Groups in 2 Pilot Countries -  

IMPLEMENTING THE PILOT PROJECTTesting the Methodology

A major activity of the workshops was to engage participants in the pilot test study on 2 selected countries to test the methodology

An output of the workshops was the formation of Working Groups, formed to continue testing the methodology and using the toolkit, conduct a sector overview and prepare a report that identifies and recommends the appropriate RE&EE interventions that would make each sector more resilient to the impacts of climate change and which would also allow the sector and the population to recover more quickly.

The report will also be accompanied by an Indicative Project Pipeline of recommended projects in each sector

Country (2013)GDP (USD

Billion) GDP Per Capita % GDP Spent on Fuel & Imports

Total Installed Capacity (2012)

(MW)Antigua & Barbuda 1.61 18,400 Electricity – 4% Total – 12% 118

Bahamas 11.4 32,000 Electricity – 4.59% Total – 11.35% 438Barbados 7.004 25,100 Electricity – 2.7%3 Total –6.9%4 239.1

Belize 1.6 4,764 Electricity – <0.1% Total – 1.95% 154

Dominica 1.02 14,300 Electricity – 1.59% Total – 5.02% 23.8Grenada 1.46 13,800 Electricity – 13% Total – 18% 48.59Jamaica 25.13 9,000 Electricity – 3%1 Total – 9% 923

St. Kitts & Nevis 0.952 26,400 Electricity – 2.92% Total – 3.99% 56.4

St. Lucia 1.38 13,100 Electricity – 6.75% Total – 16.45% 78.4

St. Vincent & the Grenadines 1.198 11,640 Electricity – 5.2%2 Total – 10.0% 58.3Trinidad & Tobago 27.14 20,300 Electricity – 1%2 Total – N/A 2830

Federated States of Micronesia 0.331 3,200 Electricity – 6.9% Total – 17.1% 29.8Palau 0.272 15,000 Electricity – 6.9% Total – 11.9% 28.05

SIDS PAYING A HIGH PRICE: PERCENTAGE OF GDP SPENT ON FUEL & IMPORTS

IMPLEMENTING THE PILOT PROJECTKey Lessons Learned

Successful implementation highly dependent on leadership at the Head of Government/State

Water , Food Security , waste management emerged as critical issues that could be addressed through transformation of the energy sector and development and deployment of RE&EE

Working Groups solidifies country ownership and must include senior decision and policy makers from the public and private sectors and civil society

Governments requested that the Resilience work to be integrated into National Sustainable Development Plans