Resilience, Sustainable Energy and Marine Biodiversity in the Caribbean OCTs of the European Union
The Resilience, Sustainable Energy and Marine Biodiversity (ReSEMBID) Programme supports the sustainable human development efforts of the 12 Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) of the European Union, namely: Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos Islands, Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten, and Saint Barthélemy. The programme started in 2019 and will conclude in 2025.
In October 2019, the director of Energy-Strategies, Wolfgang F. Lutz, joined the ReSEMBID team as Technical Adviser Sustainable Energy. Following fact-finding and formulation missions to Sint Eustatius, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Maarten and Saint Barthélemy, he served as adviser to the Programme Manager of the Sustainable Energy component of the programme in the appraisal of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in Anguilla, Aruba, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos Islands and a regional project executed by the Caribbean Electric Utilities Services Corporation CARILEC.
The projects endorsed by the programme include a diversity of subjects, like: legal and regulatory frameworks and standards to foster energy transition; a national integrated resource and resilience plan for the energy sector; energy audits, energy management, energy services and retrofitting programmes to improve energy efficiency in public buildings and in the residential sector, including vulnerable households; energy efficient lighting and environmentally friendly lamp disposal; roof-top and ground-mount decentral solar PV; solar street lighting; remote electric utility operation and customer service during disruptions due to natural hazards and pandemics; an environmental sustainability plan and a living sustainable energy laboratory at a university campus; circular waste management; the promotion of electric vehicles; capacity building, education and training programmes for students and technicians, as well as community outreach to foster consumer education and awareness for sustainable energy.
In addition to it’s achievements in the fields of resilience, sustainable energy and marine biodiversity, ReSEMBID provides a unique platform for a multi-disciplinary approach to sustainable environmental and social development in the OCT community. In order to face the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, ReSEMBID launched in early 2020 the Covid-19 Resilience Response Facility, as a specific funding window which allowed a quick response to the resilence needs caused by the pandemic.
For more information visit the ReSEMBID website or contact ReSEMBID’s Programme Director Fabian McKinnon.
November 2023