Closing Address by Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Energy & Business, Government of Barbados
& CCREEE Chairwoman of the Board, Keisha Reid
CARICOM Energy Month 2025
Theme: “Invest, Innovate, Sustain: Leading the Charge in Renewable Energy Frontiers”
As we come to the close of CARICOM Energy Month 2025, I am filled with immense pride, deep gratitude, and renewed determination. Over the past month, our region has demonstrated not only its commitment to energy resilience, but also its collective will to lead with purpose, innovation, and courage across the renewable energy frontier.
Our theme, “Invest, Innovate, Sustain: Leading the Charge in Renewable Energy Frontiers,” has guided every conversation, every event, and every initiative undertaken across the Caribbean. Throughout November, we witnessed an extraordinary mobilisation of ideas, talent, passion, and partnership, proof that the Caribbean is not waiting for the future to arrive; we are building it with intention.
This year’s observance unfolded against the sobering reality of Hurricane Melissa, a storm whose destructive path served as a painful reminder of our region’s vulnerability. Lives were disrupted, infrastructure was damaged, and communities were left to rebuild from the ground up. Yet the resilience, solidarity, and compassion shown in the aftermath remind us who we are as a region; strong, united, and unbroken.
Hurricane Melissa is not an isolated event; it reflects a shifting climate that is reshaping our lives with increasing urgency. Extreme weather events, rising seas, and escalating recovery costs are the new reality we face. But even within this crisis lies an opportunity, an opportunity to lead the charge in shaping a future built on foresight, sustainability, and resilience. Energy Month is our collective reminder that the choices we make today will determine the security and prosperity of generations to come.
Throughout November, Energy Month activities highlighted the diverse and dynamic ways our region is advancing its energy transition. Community engagement events brought families into conversations about energy efficiency and climate resilience. School programmes and youth innovation activities inspired the next generation of energy leaders, challenging students to imagine and design Caribbean solutions for Caribbean challenges. Industry forums, policy dialogues, and investment-focused sessions brought together leaders from government, finance, academia, and the private sector, strengthening partnerships and encouraging new pathways for growth.
One of the most impactful moments this month was CCREEE’s deepened engagement on gender and energy. Through the Women in Renewable Energy (WIRE) Network, CCREEE formally joined and announced at COP30 in Belem, Brazil, the Gender & Energy Compact, a global multi-stakeholder commitment under the United Nations designed to accelerate gender equality and women’s empowerment across the energy transition.
The Gender & Energy Compact calls for stronger representation of women in leadership roles across the energy sector, the integration of gender-responsive policies and planning, expanded access to training, finance, and mentorship opportunities for women and girls, increased visibility for women innovators and practitioners, and a just, equitable energy transition that recognises and includes every voice. This commitment signals our region’s leadership on inclusion—it states clearly that the Caribbean’s energy transition will be just, equitable, and powered by the full participation of women and girls.
Across the Caribbean, Energy Month served as a platform to elevate new ideas, celebrate innovation, and reinforce the critical role of renewable energy in our sustainable development. The activities reflected years of foundational work: strengthening energy governance, gathering reliable data, improving institutional capacity, and building aligned strategies that support economic growth and climate resilience.
But beyond the activities themselves is the deeper message:
The Caribbean has everything it needs to lead—creativity, ingenuity, determination, and unity. This month has reinforced that what we lack in size, we make up for in will.
As Chairperson of the CCREEE Executive Board, I have witnessed a growing regional movement, one rooted in collaboration and built on a shared understanding that renewable energy is not simply a sector. It is an economic strategy. A resilience strategy. A gender strategy. A youth strategy. A climate strategy. It is the backbone of a sustainable Caribbean future.
As we close Energy Month, we must reflect on what the theme calls us to do:
To invest
Investment must extend beyond infrastructure. It means investing in our people, our engineers, technicians, policy makers, innovators, and community leaders. It means strengthening institutions, expanding technical capacity, and creating financial frameworks that allow clean energy projects to thrive. It means building robust systems that withstand shocks and reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels.
To innovate
Innovation is more than technology; it is a Caribbean mindset. It is the ability to adapt, redesign, and reimagine possibilities. Whether through new business models, digital solutions, efficiency measures, or creative community programmes, innovation must become our default response to disruption.
To sustain
Sustainability must shape every decision we make. We must embed renewable energy into national and regional development plans, ensuring our progress is resilient and long-lasting. Sustainability is a cultural shift, an understanding that our choices today shape the quality of life for generations to come.
Perhaps the most inspiring aspect of this year’s Energy Month has been the leadership shown by our youth. Their bold ideas, fearless problem-solving, and unshakable optimism remind us that the transition is not about preparing the next generation, it is about supporting them as they lead right now.
As Energy Month 2025 concludes, I call on all of us; policy makers, business leaders, educators, financiers, innovators, civil society, and every Caribbean citizen to carry this momentum beyond November. Let us transform awareness into action, dialogue into execution, and commitment into measurable progress.
We have shown the region what unity looks like.
We have shown the world what Caribbean leadership can achieve.
Now let us show future generations what it means to sustain that leadership.
The renewable energy frontier is ours to shape.
Let us lead it, together, boldly and unapologetically.
