Ministry of Local Government & Environment
Caribbean Climate Conference Ends on Positive Note
MONTEGO BAY (JIS)
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Donovan Stanberry, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Land, delivers the opening address at the three-day Caribbean Climate Conference at the Rose Hall Resort and Country Club. Seated (-R) is Maikel Oerbekke of Ecological Technologies Limited; Councilor Cecil Davis, Deputy Mayor of Montego Bay and the Tom Roper from the Global Sustainable Energy Islands Initiative.
The first Caribbean Climate Conference held in Montego Bay, from April 10 to 12 ended on a high note with the more than 100 participants making a commitment to continue the fight against global warming.
To this end, a resolution was passed towards the end of the conference, calling for a more concerted effort towards a wide dissemination of the valuable information presented, and continuous lobbying for focused government action against the phenomenon of global warming.
Managing Director of Ecological Technologies Limited (Eco-Tec) the organizers of the conference, Maikel Oerbekke, told JIS News that he was pleased with the outcome of the forum, and that plans were already being put in place for a follow up conference in 2007.
Mr. Oerbekke also expressed pleasure at the level of attendance from non-government organizations. He said that more involvement at the community level would be one of the goals for the next event.
Meanwhile, German Ambassador to Jamaica, Volker Schlegel described the event as very informative, adding that he would have liked to see more government agencies and departments involved, which would help to further share the information. He said that every citizen should be made more aware of the importance of renewable energy for the country.
"Jamaica is one of those countries with the most number of sunshine days, and so far I think we really should do much more to use renewable energy here to reduce the cost of importing energy", he stated.Ambassador Schlegel said he would be moving to intensify the dialogue surrounding the use of renewable energy, at the government level.
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