Antigua & Barbuda – Sustainable Energy Action Plan
Antigua & Barbuda is a Caribbean island state that relies almost exclusively on imported fossil fuels for electricity generation, transportation and cooking. This imposes a very big financial burden for the economy of the country.
n terms of electricity generation Antigua & Barbuda relies almost exclusively on fossil fuels (diesel and HFO). The electrical installed capacity is approximately 121MW and the production capacity is 105.5MW. In 2009, net generation in Antigua and Barbuda was of 326GWh, derived from fossil fuel generating plants. Besides fossil fuel generation plants, since the end of 2009, there is a small photovoltaic grid-connected pilot project of 3kW installed in Antigua. This small renewable energy facility in the full year of 2010 supplied to the grid 4.8MWh of electricity.
Electrified islands – The road to e-mobility int he Caribbean
Global electric vehiclei (EV) uptake is on the rise, propelled by declining battery costs, increased awareness, and
favorable government policies. EVs are attracting interest worldwide for their role in reducing carbon emissions and
local air pollution, but most progress to date has been concentrated in China, the United States, and Western
Europe. Despite low EV numbers in the Caribbean, several factors make the region ideal for expansion. Caribbean
islands are heavily dependent on oil imports, which makes fuel expensive and exposes them to oil price and foreign
exchange risk. Transport sectors account for a large share of energy consumption. Renewable energy potential is
abundant, meaning the environmental benefits of EVs can be maximized over time. And Caribbean islands are
vulnerable to natural disasters and can benefit from the ancillary resilience services of EVs. Finally, Caribbean
islands are small, naturally mitigating range anxiety and requiring less extensive charging networks.
Antigua and Barbuda
The Government of Antigua and Barbuda is committed to the successful conclusion of negotiations under the Ad-Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP) in order to adopt, at COP21 in Paris, a new legally binding agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) appropriate to all Parties, which will come into effect and be implemented from 2020 onwards.
Antigua and Barbuda hereby communicates its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC), in accordance with the relevant paragraphs of Decisions 1/CP.19 and 1/CP.20, towards achieving the objective of the Convention to stabilize greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations to “prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system” (Article 2), and towards the Convention’s commitment for all Parties to take “measures to facilitate adequate adaptation to climate change” (Article 4).
As agreed in Decision 1 CP/20 para 11, “Small island developing states may communicate information on strategies, plans and actions for low greenhouse gas emission development reflecting their special circumstances in the context of intended nationally determined contributions.” Mitigation and adaptation targets in this INDC are presented in an up-front format to facilitate clarity and transparency, and are a mix of conditional and unconditional contributions, contingent upon receiving international support for technology transfer, capacity-building and financial resources.
