Seminar 1 - The Energy Transition: The Key to a More Resilient Caribbean
The energy transition is central to building a more resilient, competitive, and sustainable Caribbean. Despite abundant renewable energy potential across solar, wind, geothermal, and ocean resources, Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs) remain heavily dependent on imported fossil fuels. This dependence drives high electricity costs, fiscal volatility, elevated greenhouse gas emissions, and increased exposure to global energy price shocks, pressures that disproportionately affect small, vulnerable economies and constrain long-term development.
High energy costs, often well above international averages, continue to undermine productivity, competitiveness, and investment, particularly for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy is therefore not only an environmental imperative, but a strategic development priority linked to economic resilience, fiscal stability, social equity, and inclusive growth across the Caribbean.
While progress has been made, the pace of the region’s energy transition remains insufficient to meet 2030 climate and energy targets. Regulatory bottlenecks, financing constraints, limited grid capacity, high upfront infrastructure costs, and gaps in institutional and project-development capacity have slowed deployment. Meeting regional needs will require an estimated USD11 billion in clean energy investment by 2030, underscoring the urgency of coordinated policy reform, innovative financing solutions, and modernised electricity grids.
This seminar provides a high-level platform to examine how policy alignment, regulatory reform, and financing innovation can accelerate the Caribbean’s transition to clean energy. The discussion will explore how strengthened regulatory frameworks, such as those outlined in CDB’s Minimum Regulatory Framework for the Electricity Sector, can improve project bankability and investor confidence. It will also highlight the role of blended finance, public‑private partnerships, and risk‑sharing instruments in lowering the cost of capital and reducing pressure on constrained public balance sheets.
Bringing together policymakers, development partners, financiers, and energy stakeholders, the seminar aims to identify actionable reforms and priority investments while informing CDB’s operational planning and project pipeline. By fostering collaboration and practical solutions, the session supports an inclusive, just, and resilient regional energy transition that strengthens the Caribbean’s economic future in an increasingly uncertain global environment.
