(NOTE: The following article was published on the Atlantic Council’s website on June 15. However, the photos we are using were published today (June 20) with an article on ZNS-TV Facebook page.
WASHINGTON D.C. – June 15, 2023 – On June 9, the Atlantic Council with RMI traveled to The Bahamas to host the PACC 2030 Climate Resilient Clean Energy Summit on the sidelines of US Vice President Kamala Harris’ first visit to the Caribbean. The summit took place a year to the day after VP Harris announced the US-Caribbean Partnership to Address the Climate Crisis (PACC) 2030 at the ninth Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles.
“The summit came at a consequential moment for Caribbean nations and US-Caribbean engagement,” said Jason Marczak, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center (AALAC). “Caribbean countries are on the frontlines of the climate crisis, and their import-dependence of fossil fuels exacts a heavy toll on economies and livelihoods in the region. Partnership with the United States is an opportunity to overcome these challenges, and, fortunately, US and Caribbean interests are aligning, with US policy shifting to be climate and clean energy focused.”
Prime Minister of the Bahamas and Chair of the Caribbean Community Philip Davis and Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis Terrance Drew headlined the summit, with both focused on the growing need to make financing and developing clean energy projects easier and affordable for Caribbean countries. Open Society Foundations and Coca-Cola Caribbean System sponsored the event.
Prime Minister Drew underscored that his government “understands the importance of energy security and enhancing climate resilience,” but noted that “we cannot do this without external investment as we try to future proof Saint Kitts and Nevis against exogenous shocks which so often dismantle whole economies of small nations like ours.”
“Hopefully, the summit can be an example of how Caribbean ideas can and should shape future US climate and energy policy to the region,” said Wazim Mowla, associate director of the Caribbean Initiative at AALAC. “The summit’s outcomes and that of PACC 2030 can only be effective if regional stakeholders are willing to accept them.”
Joining them were high-level US officials, including Special Assistant to the US President and Principal Deputy National Security Advisor to the US Vice President Rebecca Lissner, Department of State Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemispheric Affairs Brian Nichols, and representatives from the office of the Vice President, Department of State, USAID, Department of the Treasury, Department of Commerce, the Development Finance Corporation, Department of Energy, Trade and Development Agency, and Export-Import Bank of the United States.
The summit commenced with a matchmaking breakfast, where US and Caribbean companies were paired with government officials and multilateral representatives to identify potential clean energy investment opportunities and ways to mitigate the pitfalls plaguing energy development in the region. See the complete release o the Atlantic Council’s website at https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/news/announcements/atlantic-council-wraps-successful-pacc-2030-climate-resilient-clean-energy-summit/
