Establishment of Regional Sustainable Energy Promotion Centres in Caribbean, Indian Ocean, and the Pacific SIDS and to provide support to African SIDS
Vienna, Austria, Monday, 17 March 2014: The Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Sustainable Energy Initiative – SIDS DOCK, the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs of the Republic of Austria, and the United Nations IndustrialDevelopment Organization (UNIDO), announced a historic partnership worth millions of Euros, to establish a network of regional Centres for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in SIDS. The Government of Austria, through the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), has committed to fund the establishment and first operational phase for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Centres in the Caribbean (CCREEE), Indian Ocean (IOCREEE), and the Pacific (PCREEE), and to provide support to the African islands at the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE).The signing ceremony took place at UNIDO Head Office, in Vienna, Austria. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Ambassador Michael Linhart, Secretary-General for Foreign Affairs of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs, H.E. Vince Henderson, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative of the Commonwealth of Dominica and Chair of the SIDS DOCK Steering Committee, and the Director General of UNIDO, H.E. Dr. Li Yong. “The Austrian support to the centres can be seen as an important contribution to the UN Secretary-General’s Sustainable Energy For All Initiative and the 2014 International Year of Small Island Developing States,” said Secretary-General Linhart.
“This partnership is a clear indication of the commitment of the Federal Republic of Austria to the sustainable development of the Small Island Developing States. One of the major areas of cooperation under the agreement is the promotion of the Small Islands Indicative Project Pipeline, with an estimated USD 1.2 billion in potential RE and EE projects at various stages of development. The partners will cooperate to establish the centres, mobilize resources, facilitate partnerships with the private sector aimed at the effective transfer of knowledge, technology and investments, and to put the appropriate institutional framework in place,” said Ambassador Henderson.
Under the Partnership agreement, UNIDO, by virtue of its mandate, becomes the recognised Global Institutional Partner for Small Islands. UNIDO will assist with promotion of renewable sources of energy and energy efficiency as part of its broader mandate to promote inclusive and sustainable industrial development to create more opportunities for women and the rural poor.
“This memorandum illustrates our recognition of the urgent need to address energy security, energy access for productive uses, and climate change mitigation and adaptation in Small Island Developing States. The centres will boost inclusive and sustainable industrial development and empower the local private sector by creating new jobs and investment opportunities in the energy sector,” said Director General Li Yong.
The new centres will be announced at the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States which will be held from 1 to 4 September 2014, in Apia, Samoa.
About the SIDS Sustainable Energy and Climate Resilient Initiative - SIDS DOCK
SIDS DOCK is a SIDS–SIDS institutional mechanism established in 2009 to facilitate the development of a sustainable energy economy within the small island developing states. SIDS DOCK serves as a “docking station” to increase SIDS access to international financing, technical expertise and technology, as well as a link to the multi-billion dollar European and US carbon markets.
The goals of SIDS DOCK are to mobilize in excess of USD 10-20 Billion, by 2033, to help finance the transformation of the SIDS Energy Sector to achieve a 25 percent (2005 baseline) increase in energy efficiency, generation of a minimum of 50 percent of electric power from renewable sources, and a 25 percent decrease in conventional transportation fuel use, in order to enable climate change adaptation in SIDS.
SIDS DOCK Mission is to catalyze the transformation of the energy sector of SIDS to increase energy security, reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), and generate resources for investment in adaptation to climate. Some SIDS governments have announced more ambitious goals for the reduction of fossil fuel use in order to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. By providing SIDS with a dedicated and flexible mechanism to pursue sustainable energy, SIDS DOCK will make it easier for SIDS Development Partners to invest across multiple island States, and to more frequently reach investment scale that can be of interest to commercial global financing.
SIDS DOCK has four principal functions:
1. A mechanism to help SIDS develop low carbon economies that generate the financial resources to invest in climate change adaptation
2. Assist SIDS transition to a sustainable energy sector, by increasing energy efficiency and conservation, and development of renewable energy;
3. Providing a vehicle for mobilizing financial and technical resources to catalyse clean economic growth;
4. Provide SIDS with a mechanism for connecting with the global carbon market (“DOCKing”) and taking advantage of the resource transfer possibilities that will be afforded.
In December 2010, in Cancun, Mexico, SIDS DOCK received a one-year grant of USD14.5 million in start-up contributions from the Government of Denmark, followed a grant of USD 15 million over two years (2012-2014) from the Government of Japan in December 2011, in Durban, South Africa.