Countries Struggling With Energy Transition

Latin America and CARICOM countries are struggling with the energy transition. This, according to Minister of Energy and Energy Industries, Stuart Young, while speaking at the Launch of CAF’s Report on Economic Development (RED) 2024. The 2024 issue was delivered by the CAF Development Bank on Monday, highlighting the need for a just energy transition in Latin America and the Caribbean, which considered each country’s realities. Speaking at the event, Minister Young said the energy transition issue continues to be a matter of critical concern, especially for countries like Trinidad and Tobago. "I've also tried to get the African continent on board with us because I'm convinced that with these three regions, Latin America, CARICOM, and Africa, advocating together as one voice for this extremely important topic, the more developed countries would take increasing notice. Latin America, like the CARICOM region and Africa, are struggling with the energy transition." Finance Minister Colm Imbert pointed out that it's easy for diversified economies to talk about the elimination of fossil fuels. "But for countries that have few alternative sources of income, the future will be difficult. Trinidad and Tobago is an energy-based economy, and therefore we must be careful and prudent, and our energy transition must therefore be measured and sensible. We certainly cannot abandon the production of oil and gas." However, he said Trinidad and Tobago will continue its part to reduce its carbon footprint, despite being just a ‘speck’ on the emissions map. "Because one of the issues that we as a country have is that they look at the per capita emissions of Trinidad and Tobago. So we have a small population, just over a million people. We have some of the largest petrochemical industries in the world. So therefore, if you're using per capita emissions to measure Trinidad and Tobago, we're going to rank high up on the scale. But if you look at total emissions, we are just a small speck in the carbon emission landscape." Minister Young though said the renewables talk is a part of continuous discussions. "So when you weigh the cost of natural gas, let's say $5 versus $15 for green hydrogen as the initial product into the creation of the green hydrogen you see that, quite simply, the economics are not there as yet, but Trinidad and Tobago has been granted the permission. The Government, the Cabinet have granted us the permission to build the first green hydrogen pilot project, and the CAF bank, I'm happy to say, is helping us with that project." The CAF report highlights the importance of increasing the presence of renewable energies and replacing fossil fuels with cleaner alternatives, as well as the role that gas can play in the transition.