Planning Ministry: Electric vehicles key to reducing Trinidad and Tobago’s carbon footprint

IN a bid to lower greenhouse gas emissions, the government has powered up plans to increase the uptake of electric vehicles in Trinidad and Tobago.

A consultant has been engaged to develop funding proposals for installing solar electric-vehicle chargers, a release on Wednesday said.

The move, the release said, will help keep TT on track with its commitments to the Paris Agreement, which the ministry taglined as the “Nationally Determined Contributions.”

The Paris Agreement – to which this country is a ratified party – is an international treaty that went into force in 2016 to combat climate change.

On Wednesday, Planning Minister Camille Robinson-Regis chaired the inaugural virtual meeting of the ministerial committee on the implementation plan for the Nationally Determined Contribution of TT to the Paris Agreement (2017-2030). The committee also includes Energy Minister Stuart Young and Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales.

The release quoted Robinson-Regis as saying TT has committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transport, power-generation and industrial sectors by 15 per cent "relative to a business-as-usual baseline by 2030 in its Nationally Determined Contribution.”

The minister also said the responsibility to prepare for a “zero emissions future” fell on both citizens and the Government.

“As the world builds on momentum to decarbonise economies through the energy transition, it is important for TT to ensure that we do our part responsibly and with an intense focus, hence the importance of this committee.”

Kishan Kumarsingh, head of the multilateral environmental agreements unit of the Planning Ministry, said the electric mobility policy for TT is at an advanced stage. The ministry said it is a prudent policy choice for the government to advance its plans further ahead of the global energy shift.