14 DAY TRIAL // The Caribbean island of Saint Lucia is now getting ready to bid fossil fuels their farewell and embrace green energy sources instead.
More precisely, it appears that this particular island has recently gone public with its decision to sign up to the Richard Branson-backed Carbon War Room (CWR, for short) initiative.
As Business Green explains, this initiative comes down to convincing more or less isolated communities such as this one to quit depending on fossil fuel imports in order to meet their energy demands.
The islands are encouraged to turn towards technologies aimed at harvesting renewable energy sources, and improve on their ecological footprint by making full use of them.
“We want to develop a renewables 'blueprint' using those islands that are ready today - and provide replicable models for many more communities isolated by water, desert or just distance from the grid,” reads a statement issued by Jose Maria Figueres, CWR's current president.
It is to be expected that Saint Lucia's switching from fossil fuels to green energy sources will also yield significant benefits for the island's economy, seeing how it will no longer have to spend money on imported fossil fuels.
Commenting on the island's decision to sign up to said challenge, James Fletcher, Saint Lucia's current minister of sustainable development and energy, made the following observation:
“We are joining the Ten Island Challenge because it is consistent with the goals of our government to develop a renewable energy sector and transition to a green economy.”
Apart from its deciding to invest in technologies that will allow it to use eco-friendly sources in order to meet its energy requirements, the island promises to implement several other green-oriented projects aimed at improving on its water efficiency.
Saint Lucia also wishes to roll out more environmentally-friendly ways of dealing with whatever waste gets produced on the island.
Conservationists are hopeful that Saint Lucia's signing up to this initiative will benefit marine and coastal conservation projects.