By Derrick Scott
WASHINGTON, DC – Jamaica is to host the 5th Ministerial Meeting of The Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas ( ECPA ) scheduled to be held 2019.
Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States and Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States, OAS, Her Excellency Audrey Marks, made the announcement as she addressed the opening plenary of the 3rd Ministerial of the ECPA at Viña del Mar, just outside Santiago, Chile yesterday.
During her intervention, Ambassador Marks outlined the continued commitment of the Government of Jamaica towards energy diversification, energy access and reduced cost of energy to the population.
Ambassador Marks said Jamaica looked forward to the next 2 years of leading the work of the ECPA in partnership with Ms. Kim Osborne and her team at the Development Secretariat of the OAS.
She noted that that “the region is rich in natural resources and we will seek to optimize this potential through various activities that will make the Americas a leader in the new energy paradigm.”
In extending appreciation to President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet and her Minister of Energy, the Hon. Andres Rebelledo and his team, in partnership with the OAS for their strong leadership of ECPA over the past two years, she noted that Chile had handed Jamaica the baton with a running start and in this regard, expressed confidence in Jamaica’s legendary ability to run a relay.
The Jamaican envoy said her government was also “very heartened by the expressions of support from the partners of this initiative at United States Department of Energy and Department of State as well as the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and World Bank delegations.
The 3rd Ministerial of the ECPA was officially opened yesterday by the President Bachelet and the Secretary General of the OAS, Ambassador Luis Almagro.
In her opening remarks President Bachelet highlighted the necessity of energy access and her country’s commitment towards more sustainable energy, and the support of the guiding principles and Action Plan of the ECPA.
During the opening ceremony, several countries made interventions in support of the seven pillars of the ECPA, as well as, enhancing public private partnership; and promoting regional synergies that will lead to energy transition in the Americas, supported by hemispheric knowledge exchange.
The seven pillars of ECPA include: promoting Renewable Energy, improving Energy Efficiency, and making more efficient use of fossil fuels, creating energy infrastructure, reducing energy poverty, promoting regional energy integration and developing energy research and innovation.
Its Mission is to promote regional energy cooperation through different strategies and actions to achieve a cleaner, safer, efficient, modern and fair energy deployment, while the ECPA’s vision is one of shared leadership in the implementation of energy initiatives and the exchange of experiences within the countries of the Americas, in support of energy development objectives.
The ECPA is supported by a Technical Coordination Unit led by the Department of Sustainable Development of the Organization of American States (OAS).
It supports the efforts of participating countries to advance partnerships and an open dialogue on clean energy.
