Georgetown, Guyana -- July 27, 2007 -- In light of recent reforms and growing interest in the production of
bio-energy, Government will be convening a high-level seminar titled
‘Expanding Bio-energy Opportunities in the Caribbean’. This will be
held on August 6 and 7, 2007 at the Guyana International Conference
Centre, Greater Georgetown.
The seminar is sponsored by
Government, the Caribbean Community Secretariat (CARICOM) and the
Caribbean Renewable Energy Development Programme (CREDP), in
collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the
Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), and the
Organisation of American States (OAS).
The seminar is aimed at disseminating the results of recent
studies on Bio-energy in the Caribbean, including the potential for
regional carbon finance opportunities under the Clean Development
Mechanism (CDM); formalising regional efforts toward the development of
the Caribbean Renewable Energy, Energy efficiency and bio-energy Action
Programme; and the initiation of a dialogue toward the organisation and
preparation of regional agro-energy strategy, including bio-ethanol,
bio-diesel, and bagasse co-generation opportunities.
This will also serve to facilitate dialogue between the
public sector, private investors, carbon financiers and project
developers interested in the Caribbean bio-energy industry.
Almost 90 percent of the Caribbean Region’s energy matrix
originates from fossil fuels; an alarming statistic in the face of high
volatility in the price of petroleum. Growing concerns about global
warming, and the resulting need for reductions in green house gas
emissions and also increasing concerns on the environmental impacts of
fossil fuel use is causing Governments to explore this avenue of energy
generation.
This scenario provides significant opportunities for the
utilisation of renewable biofuels in the region, which could
potentially lead to opportunities for employment, poverty reduction,
climate change abatement, and the birth of a new, sustainable
bio-energy industry in the Caribbean.
Setting up a bio-energy sector is also timely in the light
of the recent reforms of the sugar industries in the CARICOM Member
States. New economic opportunities are emerging that seek the synergies
between the sugar cane industry and the energy sector, through the
production of bio-ethanol from sugar cane.
Source: gina.gov.gy
