Barbados Focuses on Commercial Energy Diplomacy to Address Rising Fossil Fuel Costs, Says Minister of Energy

As Barbados continues to monitor the rising cost of fossil fuel, Minister of Energy and Business Senator Lisa Cummins says the government is paying more attention to commercial energy diplomacy.

She said her ministry is looking at countries that are playing a major role in producing and innovating in areas of the renewable energy sector.

Cummins spoke about the need for Barbados to develop commercial energy diplomacy agreements during a ceremony on Monday to award the 2023 Energy Development Scholarship to Adeko Collymore and Kyle Nero at the Ministry of Energy and Business, Country Road, St Michael.

Commercial energy diplomacy is a hybrid of commercial diplomacy and energy diplomacy, which involves political support for foreign-investing energy businesses.

“We [the Ministry of Energy and Business] have started to take interns in trade because we are also looking at the development of commercial diplomacy as it relates to commercial energy diplomacy. What does that involve? Who are we working with, who are our partners, and what countries should we be looking at for which products?

“The team here in the ministry has looked at identifying which countries around the world are the major countries that are producing and innovating in each area of renewable energy. And in so doing, we are able to match our commercial energy diplomacy by partnering with many of those countries. We need people to even look at the business of energy trade, energy commercial diplomacy; all of the business related to energy is going to be critical,” Cummins said.

The Energy Development Scholarship was launched in collaboration with international oil and gas explorer Woodside Energy, which has started exploration activities offshore Barbados.

Director of Natural Resources in the Division of Energy Jamar White said the company has committed to developing local content which includes training and provision of scholarships, in addition to providing the government with hardware and software equipment, among other developmental opportunities.

“The Energy Development Scholarships seeks to provide opportunities for training in the broader energy sector mindful of the global commitments to climate change, mindful of the energy transition, and, of course, mindful of Barbados’ objectives and goals in respect of its National Energy Policy. So, we believe the Energy Development Scholarship is timely and critical to our future development in the energy space, particularly the offshore energy space.

“So this year, we would have offered a range of scholarships in areas including geophysics, offshore engineering, health safety and environment, energy economics, petroleum and energy law, data science and, of course, the energy transition,” White said.

He said Collymore will be headed to the University of Strathclyde to pursue a Master’s of Science in Offshore Wind Energy, while Nero will be pursuing a Master’s of Science in Data Science for the Energy Sector at the University of Exeter.

Both Collymore and Nero – who will each receive £25 000 (BDS$61 792) for tuition fees, in addition to their airfare, warm clothing, living and book allowances – expressed gratitude for their scholarships and said they looked forward to returning to the island to put what they have learned into practice.

Commending both awardees for pursuing studies in areas that would redound to the benefit of the country, Minister Cummins indicated that an oil and gas company working with Barbados to fund the development of skills for the island’s renewable energy transition was not accidental.

“It is a part of our local content development. But, more importantly, there is a critical obligation, I believe, for fossil fuel producers, not only as part of their own decarbonisation agenda going forward and how they clean up the fossil fuel industry moving forward but also how they help to finance the energy transition,” she said.

(AH)