Belize to Benefit from Green Climate Fund Assistance
BELMOPAN, Belize – Belize is to benefit from a BDZ$1.6 million (One Belize dollar=US$0.49 cents) grant being made able through the Green Climate Fund (GCF) as it prepares for a new program being developed by the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).
Image courtesy of Prysmian Group MagazineThe government said that the funding for the project preparation facility (PPF) will assist the country in its participation in Deployment of Integrated Utility Services to Support Energy Sector Transformation in the Caribbean that is being developed by the CDB in collaboration with the Guyana-based Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).
It said the regional program will support local businesses, households and other electric utility customers to invest in renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) measures such as rooftop solar PV, battery storage, more energy-efficient equipment and energy-saving devices
The program will support these investments by working with/through the Belize Electricity Limited (BEL), which will take on an energy service company-type role within the local energy services market.
It will also provide an easy and affordable way for businesses, households and other utility customers to invest in and possibly own RE and EE equipment and devices. It will deliver three major benefits for utility customers, namely cutting their energy costs and bills, particularly over the medium term; reducing their own personal carbon footprint, and by extension, that of the broader energy system in Belize; and enhancing their resilience against potential power disruptions due to storms and other extreme weather events that are becoming increasingly frequent and intense due to climate change.
The statement said the National Designated Authority (NDA) will ensure that key energy sector stakeholders and other government representatives, as well as local households and businesses, are engaged to complete the design and other preparatory work.
“The resulting funding proposal will enable CDB to mobilize the resources estimated at US$50 million needed to finance and implement the above-described program over the coming years to Belize and three other Caribbean countries.”
The chief executive officer in the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment, Dr. Osmond Martinez, said the aim is to transform the economy along a low-emission, climate-resilient pathway towards sustainable development.
