New Executive Director of the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE), Dr. Gary Jackson. (Photo credit: Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency)

The Executive Board of the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE) has appointed Dr. Gary Jackson as its first Executive Director.

The appointment was made as CCREEE, which is based in Barbados, begins to position itself to advance the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).  The work of the CCREEE will be guided by an Executive Board and a Technical Committee.

In addition to the Executive Director, the Board comprises representatives of the Governments of Barbados, The Bahamas, Belize and Dominica, as Contracting Parties; the CARICOM Secretariat; International Development Partners; the Austrian Development Agency (ADA); the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO); SIDS DOCK; and an independent representative from the private sector or civil society selected by the Council for Trade and Economic Development.

As Executive Director, Dr. Jackson will be responsible for overseeing the administration, programmes, strategic plan, outreach, marketing and fundraising of the Centre.

In April this year, the requisite number of ratifications was deposited with the CARICOM Secretariat to establish the Centre’s legal identity and to operationalize it.

The Centre began its operations in May 2018, and is expected to improve the quantity and quality of programmes and projects in sustainable energy within the region.

The Executive Board, which is chaired by Dr. Vince Henderson of Dominica, agreed in November to the vision: ‘Transforming the energy landscape into a climate resilient, sustainable and affordable sector; focused on improving the lives of our people’.

Energy plays a critical part in supporting the sustainable development of Caribbean countries, and the action-oriented Community institution will lead to improvements in sustainable energy production, delivery and use, through increased renewable energy applications and energy efficiency measures.

During the first operational phase, the strategic priorities of the Centre are to create, optimize, embed and transform the energy sector.

The Centre will develop a ‘Knowledge Hub’ aimed at enhancing capacity within the regional energy sector, which allows for access to curated human resources and uses smart data that drives decision making.

In the area of optimizing, the Centre will support and accelerate innovative applications of technology, policy and finance through the development of tools, inclusive of but not limited to risk reduction; financial incentives; and technical assistance.

To embed and transform, the Centre will sensitize the public by highlighting sustainable energy as a means to advance the well-being of at risk and vulnerable groups.

The Centre will work closely with the CARICOM Secretariat’s Energy Unit, and will report to the Ministerial Council for Trade and Economic Development.  It will provide the Energy Unit and other local and international partners with the required technical implementation and execution capacities.

CARICOM

Pin It on Pinterest