Roseau, Dominica – April 14, 2010……. The Honourable Rayburn Blackmoore, Dominica’s Minister for Energy, left the State yesterday to attend a meeting of Energy Ministers of the Americas, Civil Society and the Private Sector at the Energy and Climate Ministerial of the Americas in Washington D.C.
The April 15th-16th meeting is hosted by US Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu and will take place at the headquarters of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Organization of American States (OAS). US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to address the forum.
The meeting was called by the US Department of Energy following the announcement by US President Barack Obama of a proposed Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA), at the Fifth Summit of the Americas held in Trinidad and Tobago in April 2009.
The ECPA brings countries across the Western Hemisphere together to facilitate the acceleration of clean energy development and deployment, advance energy security, and reduce energy poverty by sharing best practices, encouraging investment, and cooperating on technology research, development and deployment. ECPA is shaped by the desire for energy efficiency, renewable energy, cleaner fossil fuels, infrastructure, and energy poverty.
Minister Blackmoore will present aspects of Dominica’s Renewable Energy Programme focusing on the attributes, existing and planned uses of the country’s renewable resources, activities being taken to articulate Dominica’s energy policy and the legislative framework for renewable energy resource exploration and exploitation.
Hon. Blackmoore will share Dominica’s experiences with the meeting and will speak on the challenges, constraints, and difficulties confronting Dominica in moving to reduce the cost of energy and electricity and in participating as a responsible member of a “Low Carbon Community”.
The Ministerial meeting will be preceded by a half day preparatory meeting on Caribbean Sustainable Energy led and organized by the OAS.
That meeting will address the issues of key challenges and the concept and the opportunities for a regional approach to sustainable energy in the Caribbean, and the role of the US in contributing to a regional solution to achieving sustainable energy.
According to a statement from the US Department of Energy, leaders of the Western Hemisphere recognize that “energy is fundamental to sustainable development and they are committed to expanding cooperation to address the urgent and intertwined challenges of energy security and climate change”.
Joining ECPA is voluntary, and allows governments, Inter-American organizations, private industry, and civil society to lead or participate in initiatives that reflect their priorities. Governments may work jointly or on their own to lead initiatives, finance activities, and/or create welcoming policy environments that encourage low carbon development. Countries will be encouraged to identify areas where they can contribute or where they need assistance, or to collaborate and share on the OAS -ECPA information clearinghouse website.
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency has proposed a Clean Energy Exchange Programme inviting nearly 50 Latin American and Caribbean energy officials on six reverse trade missions.
– Sean Douglas, Government Press Secretary
Dominica needs representatives who first have a deep passion for the Island other Countries look for the best among themselves somethimes they go outside the GOVT to get the best person because they believe in what they say and want good results, we are lacking such persons within the GOVT but let us see what happens with Rayburn Blackmore (Minister of Energy)
These are very serious matters they will be talking about it’s the GEOTHERMAL PROJECT, ENERGY, ELECTRICTY. and a low Cabon community therefore Blackmore cannot go there with his attitude on his sleeves he have to show that the DOMINICAN GOVT it’s poeple and himself mean business
And what does Mr. Blackmoore hope to accomlish there?
They are just trying to drag him into climategate.
Blackmoore needs to go to Iceland and bring back some of their engineers to work on the geothermal project. He is wasting his time in Washington.
What really troubles me is how he is going to reconcile those green ideas with building a petrocaribe terminal in Doiminica. I will not even mention the mess in Layou.
These guys make me laugh. We do not even explore our hydro to the point where we can say we are experienced enough in this to talk knowledgably about it….
What can we do in this country without being ridiculed? I guess we should just close our border, let no one leave the island and wallow in our mud.
I read blogs from other countries who are sending representatives to that meeting and they were all positive, except for this one.
This country is by no means perfect, lots have to be done, we still have a long way to go, there is no doubt about it. It is good to have constructive criticism but when we are negative about everything, it takes us nowhere.
we should set high expectation from our leaders just as we expect from our schools, our kids and other prominent members of our society—-If we set our bar high most probably , 90%, we will get great out put—–Why HAVE LOW EXPECTATIONS? Who to a a professional and expect Mediocre results or poor results? … that speaks volume for DA—-What a waste—-
is dat…………………..travel papa travel, private jet he taking too?
This is above Blackmore head—-See the mess that is happening in DA on Geo – thermal, wind, and Hydro —What is Blackmore going to say ? Dress nice and give those people mapwey?
We send the prettiest to represent us … —-WE IN DEEP &&&&&&^%&%*^
its easy. Get a pass go to the meeting judge for your self. If you are open and verse in geothermal you will assess the minister and tell us. period!!! Stop rediculing your own.
What make you think there will not be ministers present far less educated and experienced than Dominica’s minister?
There are alot of people commenting under different names. But the language is the same.