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NEW YORK, New York, US, September 21, 2005
(Refocus Weekly)
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has called for
establishment of a special fund to support renewable energy programs
in small developing countries.
The appeal was made by Denzil Douglas, prime minister of St.
Kitts & Nevis at a high-level plenary meeting of the World Summit of
the United Nations General Assembly. He also called for
establishment of a natural disaster fund.
“As some of the extremely open economies in the world, the Caribbean
Community acknowledges the benefits of international trade and the
linkage with enhanced growth and competitiveness,” he said.
“However, we are challenged by the erosion of trade preferences and
our vulnerability to external shocks. In the face of spiralling oil
prices the Caribbean community therefore calls for the establishment
of a Special Renewable Energy Resources Fund to provide support to
the renewable energy programmes of small developing countries.”
Member states of CARICOM are supportive of a “pro-development
rules-based global trading system” but want “special and
differential treatment to extend beyond mere transition periods” and
to include technical assistance and an integration fund for
adjustment purposes, he explained.
“CARICOM States are vulnerable to natural disasters as reflected in
the increasing incidence of hurricanes and related disasters due to
global warming,” and the establishment of a Natural Disaster Fund
would assist developing countries to bolster sea defences, reduce
beach erosions, strengthen existing buildings, and secure adequate
international re-insurance.
In January, Douglas said the earthquake and tsunami in Indian Ocean
“further underscored the vulnerability of Small Island Developing
States” to disasters and “the need to make every effort to mitigate
their impacts.” The islands will be “among the first to be
negatively impacted by both climate change” and they are seeking to
replace “expensive fossil fuels that are so ruinous to the
environment with cheaper, more environmentally benign, renewable
energy.”
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