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| Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, Senator Darcy Boyce (FP) |
Investing in energy efficiency initiatives will generate jobs and growth in income both in Small Island Developing States (SIDS), as well as in the developed world.??
This was underscored by Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, Senator Darcy Boyce, as he addressed the High-Level Sustainable Energy For All (SEFA) Conference for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) last night, at the Hilton Hotel.
He noted that pursuing sustainable energy and climate change mitigation by the developed and large developing countries would require major investments in those economies, and would lead to significant growth of their alternate energy and energy efficiency sectors.?? These actions, he said, would result in more jobs and a further increase in gross domestic product.
"The economic benefits in the developed and large developing countries would require worldwide investment in sustainable energy to keep the increase in world temperatures below 1.5 degrees Celsius [and this] may well be even greater than those in the Small Island Developing States," he said.
With respect to climate change issues, Senator Boyce maintained that, although SIDS had contributed negligible amounts to the degradation of the world’s environment by the vast increase in Green House Gas emissions, they were the ones that would bear and are already "bearing the brunt of the deleterious effects of the increase in temperatures caused by the growth in Green House Gas emissions".??
He noted that as a result of the small sizes and relatively low incomes of these countries, it was very burdensome on them to undertake climate change adaptation work that "is so expensive but so necessary to protect both their physical state and their economies".
As a consequence, he suggested that for all SIDS, including those with higher than average per capita incomes, all funding for this adaptation work should be at concessionary terms.??
"The whole world benefits from such efforts, which should be seen for what they truly are and treated as such: global public goods.?? I, therefore, urge regional and international development banks, bilateral donors, the United Nations system and the private sector to join us and fully support our efforts.?? It is also incumbent on us to put in place the necessary enabling environment and governance systems to ensure the smooth flow of energy-related investment capital," Mr. Boyce stressed.
Concerning the upcoming Rio+20 conference in June, the Energy Minister?? said SIDS intended to lead the way by calling for an ambitious outcome on energy initiatives that would address concerns and put respective countries on a path toward a sustainable future.
cathy.lashley