Energy Transition and Climate Change in the Caribbean Congress

First regional congress on Energy Transition and Climate Change took place in Santo Domingo in May.

The Caribbean is one of the regions most affected by the climate change and although there is a huge potential for renewable energy, most of the islands generate their electricity primarily using fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal. The Dominican Republic is leader in development of renewable energy in the region, and yet still approximately a-third of the country's greenhouse gas emissions originate from the production of electricity.

The first regional Energy Transition and Climate Change in the Caribbean Congress took place in Santo Domingo in May 2019. The event focused on issues related to climate change and renewable energy, challenges, best practices and scenarios that the sector has both in the region and locally. The Congress was organized by the IKI project "Promoting a low-carbon energy system for the achievement of the climate objectives of the Dominican Republic" together with the BMZ funded project "Climate Resilient and Sustainable Energy Supply in the Caribbean (Cli-RES)".

This four-day event was attended by over 700 participants. Its main objective was to sensitize and raise awareness in the energy and climate sectors on the benefits and experiences in the development of renewable energies and how the energy sector needs to adapt to the new climate circumstances. Experiences were shared by international organizations like Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE), The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), RENAC - Renewables Academy, UNFCCC amongst others.

Parallel to the Congress,the Association for the Promotion of Renewable Energies (ASOFER) organized a trade fair where regional participants exhibited their portfolio of available products and technologies. Additionally, technical workshops were held to share with the participants on the latest knowledge, lessons learned, best practices and experiences within the local, regional and global electricity sector.

For more information and videos of the Congress, please visit the youtube channel.