USAID Caribbean Clean Energy Program: Energy and Inclusion Summary Paper

The program's key activities include support for policy formulation, improving the enabling environment for clean energy development, greening the grid, private-sector leverage in clean energy investment, energy efficiency, and donor coordination. CARCEP's objectives are to create a favorable policy, legal, and regulatory environment for clean energy development, modernize local utilities with updated tools and resources, and lower the risk environment for clean energy sector development. This is expected to attract private capital, resulting in a rapid upscaling of renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) projects, and the creation of a new, green economy. The program focuses on five major tasks: improving the enabling environment for clean energy development, optimizing variable renewable energy integration, accelerating private sector clean energy investment, energy efficiency benchmarking in the hotel and tourism sector, and coordination and promotion of USAID and United States Government (USG) inter-agency activities in the energy sector. A key component of CARCEP is the CARCEP Gender Plan, which aims to integrate gender considerations into the program's activities. The plan recognizes the importance of addressing the social and economic impacts of energy poverty on women and other marginalized groups. It seeks to promote gender equality and social inclusion by enhancing the capacity of women and other groups to participate in decision-making processes and access clean energy technologies. The CARCEP Gender Plan identifies several key areas for intervention, including energy access, energy efficiency, and renewable energy. It also recognizes the importance of addressing the social and economic impacts of energy poverty on women and other marginalized groups. The plan aims to promote gender equality and social inclusion by enhancing the capacity of women and other groups to participate in decision-making processes and access clean energy technologies. The program's approach to addressing energy poverty is centered on the concept of social inclusion, which refers to the development of inclusive institutions, policies, social norms, and behaviors that provide opportunities for previously marginalized groups to increase their voice and access to assets. The program seeks to promote social inclusion by addressing the root causes of energy poverty, including lack of access to clean energy technologies, limited economic opportunities, and social and cultural barriers. The CARCEP program recognizes the importance of addressing the social and economic impacts of energy poverty on women and other marginalized groups. It seeks to promote gender equality and social inclusion by enhancing the capacity of women and other groups to participate in decision-making processes and access clean energy technologies. The program's approach to addressing energy poverty is centered on the concept of social inclusion, which refers to the development of inclusive institutions, policies, social norms, and behaviors that provide opportunities for previously marginalized groups to increase their voice and access to assets. The program's objectives are to create a favorable policy, legal, and regulatory environment for clean energy development, modernize local utilities with updated tools and resources, and lower the risk environment for clean energy sector development. This is expected to attract private capital, resulting in a rapid upscaling of renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) projects, and the creation of a new, green economy. The program's approach to addressing energy poverty is centered on the concept of social inclusion, which refers to the development of inclusive institutions, policies, social norms, and behaviors that provide opportunities for previously marginalized groups to increase their voice and access to assets.