A Regional Energy Training Hosted in Belize
The Ministry of Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management through the National Climate Change Office and the Department of Environment is hosting a regional training course on energy data collection, analysis and integrated assessment of climate, land, energy and water. The week-long training commenced on Monday and is being funded through the International Atomic Energy Agency. So what does this mean? Basically, energy sector stakeholders from CARICOM member states are being engaged in strengthening their national capacities to conduct energy system analysis to assess and develop their own sustainable energy strategies. Responding to climate change and ensuring universal access to food, energy and water are among the most important development challenges faced today. Chief Climate Change Officer Doctor Lennox Gladden speaks on the components of the regional project and Belize standing out for its work in the energy sector.
Lennox Gladden
Dr. Lennox Gladden, Chief Climate Change Officer, N.C.C.O.
“In the course of the week, they have targeting water, land, energy and then bringing all of that together looking at the importance of energy and building capacity in the energy sector to devise that balance of course because we want to build that overall resiliency – not only to the energy sector, but we know these other sectors for food security, for water security – they are all integrated. So that is the synopsis of what is going to take place here. The initiative itself and it was mentioned earlier, to get a true understanding of doing these energy balances modelling, it takes a period of six weeks. What we are doing now is to sensitise them and to have them have a better understanding of what the CLEW should do so they can then decide if they want to scale up within their respective countries.”
Duane Moody
“So it is going to tell them how to collect that data and all of those things?”
Dr. Lennox Gladden
“And then its applicability. Because we need to make sure if it is applicable because they are saying the support is free – they have some online courses that the participants can do, but it is not a commercialised platform or module. Even if they are using a different module, they can still render that assistance because the team from IAEA is from the energy capacity building unit. As it relates to the relationship between the ministry, the climate change office and the sectors, the energy unit within the ministry – they are very targeted, they’re very focused so as it relates to other sectors, they are on top of their game when it comes to energy data collection and how to analyse that an incorporate that into decision-making.”
The three major components of the regional project focus on groundwater assessment, of course energy and finally marine pollution with a focus on micro plastics.
