The Caribbean region is almost entirely dependent on fossil fuels for its transportation and electricity needs. Renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies offer considerable opportunities to meet growing energy demand in a cost-effective fashion. Through the ECPA initiative on Caribbean Sustainable Energy Capacity Building, the OAS will work closely with Caribbean governments to tackle key commercialization challenges related to expanding the deployment and use of sustainable energy alternatives as a means to inject energy low-cost, environmentally sound technologies in the Caribbean energy portfolio.

Additionally, the initiative will engage the academic sector to empower science education in primary and secondary schools. Technical guidance will be provided to teachers to further energy literacy and provoke critical thinking among school students, thereby strengthening analytic skills to understand the environmental and social linked to clean energy, climate change and the food and water nexus.

Capacity building, education and training are pivotal to achieving energy security goals and expanding markets. Empowering stakeholders to successfully engage in sustainable energy ventures is the first step toward the creation of a marketplace targeting clean energy goods and services. In order for the Caribbean energy market to transition toward clean, more sustainable and diverse options a significant cultural and behavioral change must ensue. The ECPA Sustainable Energy Capacity Building initiative will build the capacity of stakeholders to meaningfully and effectively engage in a new, cleaner and more sustainable energy marketplace. The initiative will also develop educational tools to raise awareness on sustainable energy among school children in the Dominican Republic.