TRINIDAD and Tobago will continue to do what is necessary to have maximum benefits from carbon pricing says Planning and Development Minister Camille Robinson-Regis.
On Wednesday, the minister met virtually with world leaders to discuss the future of the climate with the World Bank at the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition’s (CPLC) event during the Fifth Innovate4Climate (I4C) annual conference.
The I4C, hosted by the World Bank Group, is one of the leading annual global conferences on climate finance, climate investment and climate markets, combining high-level plenaries, workshops, and a virtual marketplace.
In a press release from the Ministry of Planning and Development on Wednesday, Robinson -Regis stated, “Placing a price on carbon as well as participation in the carbon market can provide opportunities for Trinidad and Tobago to accelerate the net zero transition.
“However, it should not compromise the ability to meet the country’s socio-economic needs and sustainable development objectives. In our case, this is particularly relevant as we are currently developing a Just Transition of the Workforce policy to guide potential challenges that may arise in the transition to net zero emissions, which we hope will create the policy framework to truly maximise the potential benefits of carbon pricing. The design of carbon markets to accommodate different national circumstances to ensure that small countries such as Trinidad and Tobago are not disadvantaged, would therefore be important to ensure that it contributes to net zero for relatively small economies.”
Robinson-Regis emphasised that the recent greenhouse gas inventory conducted for T&T has identified the industrial sector as a significant emitter among the top three along with power generation and transportation. Given the relatively high contribution of emissions in this sector, exploration of carbon pricing mechanisms will not only enable T&T to achieve emissions reductions and thereby facilitate the net-zero transition but also incentivise the private sector’s participation towards this end.
During the conference, the minister indicated that T&T was committed to playing its part towards achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement and the commitment to Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).
In T&T’s NDC, the Government aims to reduce overall emissions from the power generation, transportation and industrial sectors by 15% by 2030 from Business as Usual (BAU), which in absolute terms is an equivalent of 103,000,000 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide equivalent (CO2e). T&T has also committed to unconditionally reduce its public transportation emissions by 30% compared to 2013 levels by December 31, 2030.
