Greening Tobago

The belief is clear – the question is how to get there. There is widespread appeal throughout the Caribbean to turn the region’s islands into green economies where the only footprint is the one left by people in the sand.

One of the big elements of this transformation would be to encourage more use of renewable technology and less consumption of ever-more expensive fossil fuels.

Trinidad and Tobago is one country that could lead the way. Unlike most other island developing states, Trinidad is a major producer and exporter of fossil fuels, mainly natural gas.  The smaller sister Island of Tobago, however, is famed as one of the most pristine Caribbean tourist islands and markets as “Green, Clean and Serene”.  The economic drivers of these two islands are clearly in sharp contrast, but their differences are an opportunity for Trinidad and Tobago to diversify both its economic and energy bases.  Also, the country is in the envious position of being one of the few in the Caribbean that could afford to invest in a large-scale transition to renewable energy as part of its tourism branding for Tobago.  It’s a shift that could present major business opportunities for Trinidad and Tobago in the manufacturing of low-carbon and renewable technologies.

How can it be achieved?

With funding from the British High Commission and the German Embassy, CARIBSAVE carried out a consultation and workshop in Tobago to investigate the idea. The project was called Greening Tobago and it looked at the challenges Tobagonians face in making the switch to renewable energy, power-efficient technology and low-carbon economic growth.

Tobago was chosen as a pilot site because its government is committed to helping its citizens prosper, its authorities are keenly aware of the need to cut emissions of greenhouse gases and it has an abundance of natural sources of renewable energy.

In the first phase of the project, talks with government, non-governmental organisations and business exposed a wealth of ideas for achieving greener development. One of the most promising proposals was to transform Tobago into a “low-carbon tourism destination”, a proposal that could both conserve the limited fossil fuels and be a major marketing pull for tourism.

The ideas from the talks were sent out to involved parties for feedback and suggestions. The results revealed broad support for low-carbon goals as well as major challenges in meeting them. The main barriers were the high initial cost of alternative energy systems, government subsidies for fuel imports, the need for more government leadership in the area and a lack of people with the technical skills to install and maintain renewable energy systems.

The study is one activity in a bigger effort to assist the people of the Caribbean move toward a sustainable future and prosperous green economies.

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For further information contact: Dr Owen Day, owen.day@caribsave.org

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Funded by the British High Commission and the German Embassy, this project focused on addressing the challenges facing Tobagonian stakeholders in adopting renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies, revealing an array of actions that could be taken forward to facilitate greater investments in these areas in pursuit of a green growth low-carbon development pathway and potentially 'carbon-neutral tourism destination' status.

 

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