GREEN STIMULUS IN THE CARIBBEAN

The report proposes a 'green stimulus' for the Caribbean focusing on distributed energy resources (DERs) to combat pandemic-related job losses and long-term economic vulnerability. It identifies solar PV, wind, electric vehicles (EVs), and energy efficiency as high-impact sectors for immediate employment. Beyond jobs, the document highlights how DERs improve resilience against hurricanes and economic shocks, while enabling economic diversification in sectors like agro-industry by lowering energy costs.

• Distributed energy resources (DERs) offer a pathway to offset approximately half of pandemic-related job losses on representative Caribbean islands through specific targets: 50 MW of solar PV could create 750 jobs over five years, 30 MW of wind could create 300 jobs over five years, and converting 10,000 vehicles to electric could create 300 jobs over three to four years.
• Solar PV is identified as providing the widest range of green energy jobs in the Caribbean, utilizing a workforce skilled in trades such as electrical engineering, project management, and general construction.
• To make electric vehicles (EVs) accessible in lower-income islands where new EV costs are prohibitive, the report recommends importing used EVs, converting internal combustion vehicles to electric, and focusing on mass transit.
• Investment in energy efficiency for existing buildings, specifically a $10 million investment, is estimated to create over 100 jobs and achieve energy savings of up to 80%.
• DERs enhance resilience by allowing critical infrastructure—such as hospitals and water treatment facilities—to operate as microgrids during extended grid outages caused by hurricanes or other shocks.
• Undergrounding electricity grids is recommended to mitigate the 'astronomical risk' of Category 5 hurricanes; the report estimates that every 100 miles of undergrounded infrastructure would create 200 full-time jobs.
• Lowering energy costs through DERs could revitalize the Caribbean agro-industry by making desalination-based irrigation viable, thereby reducing the region's dependence on food imports, which currently exceed 80% for most islands.
• The report recommends three immediate stimulus actions: backstopping electric utility credit to attract independent power producers, creating clean energy lines of credit to replace sovereign guarantees, and enacting policy incentives such as waiving duty fees on clean energy components.

APA

Bunker, K., Gumbs, D., Locke, J., & Torbert, R. (2020). GREEN STIMULUS IN THE CARIBBEAN. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2020/06/Green-Stimulus-in-the-Caribbean-June-2020.pdf

Chicago

Bunker, Kaitlyn, David Gumbs, Justin Locke, and Roy Torbert. GREEN STIMULUS IN THE CARIBBEAN. RMI, 2020. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2020/06/Green-Stimulus-in-the-Caribbean-June-2020.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bunker |first1=Kaitlyn |last2=Gumbs |first2=David |last3=Locke |first3=Justin |last4=Torbert |first4=Roy |title=GREEN STIMULUS IN THE CARIBBEAN |publisher=RMI |date=June 2020 |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2020/06/Green-Stimulus-in-the-Caribbean-June-2020.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bunker2020green, author = {Bunker, Kaitlyn and Gumbs, David and Locke, Justin and Torbert, Roy}, title = {{GREEN STIMULUS IN THE CARIBBEAN}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2020}, month = jun, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2020/06/Green-Stimulus-in-the-Caribbean-June-2020.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }