Training report #2- report on training programme conducted November 2013 in Jamaica

This project, Sustainable Energy in the Caribbean , implemented by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UN-ECLAC) will support the following: - Technical assistance to three countries of the Caribbean in the evaluation of existing fiscal systems and regulations as they relate to energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies so as to identify gaps and barriers to implement these technologies and to provide options for their removal  Development of national documents on strengthening fiscal and regulatory systems for at six countries – Guy…

An assessment of fiscal and regulatory barriers to the deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies in Saint Lucia

An assessment of fiscal and regulatory barriers to the deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies in Grenada

An assessment of fiscal and regulatory barriers to deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies in Belize

Belize is currently faced with several critical challenges associated with the production, distribution and use of energy. Despite an abundance of renewable energy resources, the country remains disproportionately dependent on imported fossil fuels, which exposes it to volatile and rising oil prices, limits economic development, and retards its ability to make the investments that are necessary for adapting to climate change, which pose a particularly acute threat to the small island states and low-lying coastal nations of the Caribbean. This transition from energy consumption and supply patte…

Training Report #1- Report on Training Programme Conducted October 2013 in Guyana

This project, Sustainable Energy in the Caribbean , implemented by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UN-ECLAC) will support the following: - Technical assistance to three countries of the Caribbean in the evaluation of existing fiscal systems and regulations as they relate to energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies so as to identify gaps and barriers to implement these technologies and to provide options for their removal  Development of national documents on strengthening fiscal and regulatory systems for at six countries – Guy…

Training manual: innovative fiscal and regulatory incentives for energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives

This course will be designed for the officers within government departments who have responsibilty for guiding the country’s energy policy and energy management framework. Other stakeholders also will include private sector representatives who have interest in providing energy efficiency equipment and renewable energy solutions to the market towards advancing improvements in both energy efficiency and meeting renewable energy targets. The course will provide insight into all aspects of energy management with specific emphasis on energy efficiency as well as renewable energy. Emphasis will be p…

An assessment of the economic and social impacts of climate change on the Coastal and Marine Sector in the Caribbean

Climate change poses special challenges for Caribbean decision makers related to the uncertainties inherent in future climate projections and the complex linkages between climate change, physical and biological systems, and socioeconomic sectors. At present, however, the Caribbean subregion lacks the adaptive capacity needed to address these challenges. The present report assesses the economic and social impacts of climate change on the coastal and marine sector in the Caribbean until 2050. It aims both to provide Caribbean decision makers with cutting edge information on the vulnerability to …

An assessment of the economic and social impacts of climate change on the energy sector in the Caribbean

The present report assesses the economic and social impacts of climate change on the energy sector in Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. In the study, the Artificial Neural Network methodology was employed to model the relationship between climate change and energy demand. The viability of the actions proposed were assessed using cost benefit analyses based on models from the National Renewable Energy …

An assessment of the economic and social impacts of climate change on the coastal and marine sector in the Caribbean

Regional environmental policy and sustainable tourism development in the Caribbean

Tourism began to emerge in the Caribbean from the mid-1960s, and since that time, the sector experienced consistent growth so as to make it the major economic sector in the region by the early 1990s. While several factors such as the development of air travel, and closeness to the major source markets of the United States of America contributed to the strong growth in Caribbean tourism, the region's warm weather as well as pristine natural environments comprising of beaches, coral reefs, spectacular scenery and friendly peoples have undoubtedly contributed to the development of the touris…

Report of the Expert Group Meeting to develop an action plan for sustainable statistical capacity development in the Caribbean

Study on the vulnerability and resilience of Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

Caribbean Small Island Developing States are considered to be particularly vulnerable to external shocks that stem from changes in climate and the increase in frequency and magnitude of natural disasters. Quantification of the extent of vulnerability of these islands may be measured by the use of several indices including the Economic Vulnerability Index (EcVI), the Disaster Deficit Index (DDI), the Environmental Vulnerability Index (EVI) and the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI). The capacity to build resilience may be measured by the Economic Resilience Index (ERI). Of importance in the measu…

Review of selected areas of research on the Caribbean subregion in the 2000s: identifying the main gaps

This study has been prepared to assist the French Development Agency (AFD), as part of the implementation of its Framework for Action Regional Caribbean, to identify the main development issues of the Caribbean region and areas of future research. The study focuses on the state of the research in the Caribbean region and proposes areas for future collaboration between the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the AFD. The areas of enquiry cover economic, social and cultural, environmental and international relations, with an emphasis on public policy. The study al…

Inflation and the variability of relative prices in the Caribbean: evidence from panel threshold models

This paper examines the impact of inflation and its variability for eight Caribbean countries; Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The paper goes beyond the standard approach to examine the variability of relative prices (VRP) within the context of a threshold effects framework, since it was recognized that whether inflation was low or very high was significant in determining its impact on an economy. The paper employed a panel threshold effects model to capture the non-linear nature of the relationship…

Sustainable development from a human rights perspective and the challenges it represents for the Caribbean SIDS (a discussion paper)

This report is commissioned by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean, with the overall purpose of examining the extent to which the pursuit of sustainable development in the Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) is guided by human rights considerations and, more specifically, to what extent human rights principles, norms, and standards are being integrated and mainstreamed in development programmes and projects, following a rights-based approach to development. For ECLAC itself, this is a relatively new approach…

Evaluation of the meeting on promoting energy effeiciency in the Caribbean

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), in collaboration with the Caribbean Development Bank, convened the meeting “Promoting Energy Efficiency in the Caribbean” on 13–14 May 2010 at its Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean, in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The meeting had its genesis in the convening of consultations in 2009 with Latin American and Caribbean countries, members of the Latin American Energy Agency, and resulted in a report calling for greater awareness of energy efficiency among Caribbean countries, so as to provide the impetus of the de…

Caribbean regional report for the five-year review of the Mauritius strategy for the further implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action for the sustainable development of small island developing states (MSI +5)

The small island developing States (SIDS) of the Caribbean referred to in this report comprise Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, The Netherlands Antilles, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States Virgin Islands. As far back as 1994, these countries expressed commitment to implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action (BPoA) for SIDS and have reiterated their support in making progress in achieving the targets set…

Analysis of extreme events in the Caribbean 1990-2008

This study presents an analysis of extreme events in the Caribbean subregion for the period 1990 to 2008, and forms part of a similar, wider study focused on the Latin America and the Caribbean region (Central America and South America being the other two subregional components). It explores the economic costs of climate change through an examination of adaptation costs to extreme events. ECLAC, through its Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean, is pleased to have been able to undertake this study with the financial support of DFID and to have ensured its successful execution in collabora…

The status of millennium development goals: monitoring and reporting in selected Caribbean countries

In spite of various initiatives, Caribbean countries continue to have difficulties in addressing demands of monitoring and measuring progress towards the fulfilment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and other Internationally Agreed upon Development Goals (IADGs)1. To address this gap, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has received funding for a technical assistance project, Strengthening the capacity of National Statistical Offices (NSOs) in the Caribbean Small Island Developing States to fulfil the Millennium Development Goals and other International…

Gender equality, poverty and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the Caribbean subregion

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are fundamentally a set of eight global goals for the achievement of basic economic and social rights for all, with time-bound targets to be achieved by the year 2015. In adopting the Millennium Declaration in 2000, the member States of the United Nations pledged to “spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty.”1 The focus of this report is on the progress made by Caribbean countries towards the achievement of Goal 1: the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger; and Goal 3: t…