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| Minister of the Environment and Drainage, Dr. Denis Lowe |
The green economy can present a window of opportunity for Barbados to emerge from the economic crisis with a new sector, that of alternative energy.
Minister of the Environment and Drainage, Dr. Denis Lowe, made this assertion, while noting that the new sector of the developing world was going to be in the area of energy.
"Energy from an alternative perspective, versus a fossil fuel-based energy sector," he emphasised, adding the green economy presented the space needed to do such.
Dr. Lowe said that it was important for the country to understand that its leaders were not just sitting idly by and allowing emerging opportunities to pass because of the economic situation.
"When this is all over I believe that Barbados will have a new sector, and that sector will be part and parcel of the economic transformation of Barbados. What will be different in this sense is that we will not be pursuing any new sectoral activities or any new economic thrust at the expense of our environment," he noted.
The Minister stressed that the environment of countries did not have to be sacrificed to achieve new templates in economic development. "…That means we will be driving the expansion of our economic space domestically by the creation of new green products [and], green jobs.
"While we are doing that, we would [also] be enhancing the quality of life of our people by the reduction of those harmful impacts of fossil fuel development, and a fossil fuel-based economy.
"We would be able to pass on a stronger, more sustainable environment to generations to come. That is the commitment to the country," Dr. Lowe pointed out.
The Minister further noted that Barbados already had ready inputs – sun, wind, and other types of bio-related materials – that could produce the needed energy.