Air conditioners and refrigerators provide essential services in the year round tropical climate of the Caribbean. Growing local populations and the tourism that helps drive many economies are demanding ever more cooling products. Unfortunately, the energy performance is largely unregulated, so inefficient models are common and up to 80 per cent of the electricity is wasted. With high electricity prices and reliance on imported fossil fuels, this waste has big implications: residents and businesses suffer from expensive power bills, utilities struggle to meet peak energy demand, governments are saddled with increasing dependence on imported energy (with prices that fluctuate), and pollution and greenhouse gas emissions are exacerbated.
Improving air conditioner and refrigerator performance with available and affordable solutions, while transitioning to new refrigerants (the gases used in the operation of the equipment), offers an unparalleled opportunity to address these challenges. The Bahamas, Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and St. Lucia have been proactive in pursuing a variety of energy and environment goals over the years. They represent a diverse cross-section of the Caribbean, and their governments and tourism industries have express
In April 2018, BASE and partners from the United for Efficiency (U4E) network, including United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), and the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, launched the Caribbean Cooling Initiative. The initiative is funded by the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program (K-CEP) to support the Kigali Amendment of the Montreal Protocol and phase out ozone-depleting greenhouse gases used as refrigerants.
The project is based on the “Coolease” financial mechanism, which aims to promote adoption of energy efficiency and climate-friendly cooling solutions in the commercial sector. The Coolease model enables suppliers and consumers of air conditioning and refrigeration products to transition to the latest technology without an upfront investment. BASE is leading the design and development of the financial mechanism for the project, in close consultation with local financial institutions.
The Caribbean Cooling Initiative includes five action areas: an energy efficiency market assessment, development of a national cooling strategy and energy performance standards, piloting a financial mechanism to support adoption of high-performance cooling products, and training of government officials to adopt and implement the recommended policies. Find out more about the programme on the UN Environment project page, and the United for Efficiency project page.
