By the Caribbean Journal staff
Grenada will receive more than $2 million in technology assistance from a Chinese project aimed at helping the country adapt to climate change.
The AOSIS-China Climate Change Adaptation Pilot Programme, Grenada will receive the funding over a five-year period, according to Xie Zhenhua, China’s vice minister of the National Development and Reform Commission.
The announcement was made on the sidelines at the Durban Climate Conference.
“Such upfront financing is considered critical to the successful development of a sustainable energy sector in SIDS [small island developing states],” said Grenadian Foreign Minister Karl Hood. “South-South cooperation is not new and China has consistently demonstrated this.”
The technology transfer fund would provide private and public sector agencies with financing for hardware, training and equipment from China on loans, with repayment linked to the savings in fuel imports.
The immediate beneficiaries of the project are major public buildings in Grenada, including the Ministerial and Financial Complexes, hospitals and police and fire stations.
As part of the technology transfer, more than 20,000 LED equivalent bulbs will replace fluorescent bulbs, with 1,000 incandescent bulbs being replaced with the LED equivalent with photocells.
Energy and Sustainable Development Advisor Hugh Sealy said Grenada is also interested in using solar technology to achieve space cooling.