Caribbean island states and efficient cooling

IKI-project organizes a regional training on the economic rationale for energy & NAMA development in the cooling sector on the Caribbean Island Saint Kitts & the Nevis.

More than 50 policy makers from 15 Caribbean Islands come together to learn about the relevance of the cooling sector to global environment and energy systems, and to mainstream the integration of energy efficiency solutions for the sector into climate processes through Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs).

On behalf of the global IKI-project “Development of NAMAs for the refrigeration and foam production sectors (RAC&F NAMA)” the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is implementing this workshop. The project is financed by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB).

This pilot training is the last part of a three folded NAMA training package on the NAMA development in the refrigeration, air-conditioning and foam sector and focusses mainly on financing and the economic feasibility and cost calculation of cooling systems and their scaling up potential.

The world-wide growing demand for refrigeration, air-conditioning and foam (RAC&F) technologies is not without an impact on global warming to which the small island states are most vulnerable. The Caribbean island states need to adjust their infrastructure to a higher cooling demand caused by steadily increasing temperatures. Despite the availability of tremendous domestic renewable energy resources, the island states in the Caribbean remain disproportionately dependent on imported fossil fuel, which exposes them to volatile oil prices, limits economic development, and degrades local natural resources.

Although the electricity prices are very high, the use of electricity is mostly inefficient. For instance, about 40% of the electricity consumption in the Caribbean region is being used for cooling. Due to low efficiency levels and high leakage rates of refrigerant gases with high global warming potential (GWP), the RAC&F sector is responsible for a significant share of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and this share is expected to rise to 13 % by 2030. The rapidly expanding middle class and changing lifestyles translate into a growing demand for refrigeration and air-conditioning. In order to mitigate both direct and indirect emissions from the cooling sector, the introduction and diffusion of green cooling technologies is of paramount importance.

The first part of the training specifically focusses on NAMAs, which are actions under the umbrella of a national governmental initiative to reduce GHG emissions relative to a business-as-usual (BAU) emission scenario. Their design, rationale and financing options in the Caribbean RAC&F sector will occupy center stage. This first part on NAMAs belongs to a larger training package designed by GIZ Proklima, which offers two additional modules focused on NAMAs in the cooling sector. The second part elaborates on investment-grade calculation, analysis and financial modelling of energy efficient projects.  Introduction to economic calculations and calculation tools, presentation of marketing and financing options will be, for instance, some of the main components.
Presentations but also plenary discussions, group work activities and match-making sessions punctuate the training in order to provide diversified learning opportunities, foster peer-to-peer exchanges and offer networking possibilities.
The workshops are being hosted by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat in collaboration with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and GIZ, through the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technical Assistance (REETA) Programme, the Sector Programme Technology Cooperation in the Energy Sector and the IKI-project.

12- 16 September 2016, Saint Kitts and Nevis