The Requirements and Effects of a RE Portfolio Standard on the Economies of the Caribbean Island Chain: A Case Study of Trinidad and Tobago

The Caribbean islands are very dependent on tourism. However, with the expected temperature changes due to climate change, the Caribbean island chain will be devastated as most islands would lose their most valuable tourist asset, their beaches. The predicament of the islands is further exacerbated by the fact that they have no control of the predicted sea level rise as their aggregated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is less than 0.3% of global emissions. The paper reviews the applicability of renewable energy (RE) technologies to Caribbean islands, using Trinidad and Tobago as a case study. It then looks at the social and political impacts of legislating an RE portfolio standard, and its probable effect on the future economic prosperity of the island and the concomitant political survival of the government that implements it. The paper finally suggests the enabling environment required for the implementation of such a standard.