Introduction
Currently, the Caribbean nations have the highest energy cost compared to other nations in the Western Hemisphere. Globally, Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) also has the most expensive energy products and services because of fuel deprivation in the Caribbean and the Pacific regions (Burunciuc, 2022; Ashtine et al., 2018). In this context, different comparative and case studies from LAC have examined the region’s energy poverty and crisis. For example, Thomson et al. (2022) show that the LAC region has an average of 98.3% connectivity rate. This rating is above the individual connectivity rate for countries Guyana, Nicaragua, and Haiti which have low electricity connectivity. For instance, Thomson et al. (2022) note that the connectivity rate in Haiti is nearly 45%, while Guyana’s value is 91.8%. Thomson et al. (2022) report that the connectivity rate of Nicaragua is almost 88.1%. These statistics imply that in Haiti, nearly 55% of the population lacks adequate electricity connections. In the same case, the figure shows that almost 12% and 8% of people living in Nicaragua and Guyana have limited access to electricity. Consequently, this affects LAC residents’ social and economic lives, with nearly 64% of business entities experiencing frequent power outrages of longer than 2 hours on average (Thomson et al., 2022). Therefore, the research will assess how Caribbean culture creates an abyss of energy poverty and recommend solutions to obtain energy security in the region.
Causes of Energy Poverty and Insecurities in LAC
The primary causes of energy insecurity in LAC include overdependency on fossil fuels. Burunciuc (2022) reports that Caribbean countries rely on imported fossil fuels such as oil and petroleum for domestic and industrial energy production. This dependency negatively affects the fuel and electricity prices in the country, making them unaffordable and inaccessible for the population. According to Burunciuc (2022), 9 out of the 11 countries in the Caribbean import fuel for electricity production. Burunciuc (2022) also show that 9 Caribbean nations import fossil fuel to produce 80% of their electricity. Thus, on average, nearly 80% of electricity in Lack countries results from fossil-fueled sources. Countries such as Guyana currently import almost 4 million barrels of liquid fossil fuels to support the state’s power generation yearly (Blanco, 2017). The importation makes Guyana spend over $ 80 million annually on imported fossil fuel (Burunciuc, 2022; Blanco, 2017). Consequently, the cost of electricity in the Caribbean nations is elevating to unaffordable values for users, with current rates ranging between $ 0.25 and $ 0.40 per kWh.
Slow adoption or penetration of renewable energy sources is also a key factor that increases the Caribbean countries’ energy poverty. Burunciuc (2022) indicates that Caribbean nations’ economic, financial, and regulatory factors are major hindrances to introducing clean and sustainable energy sources. For example, Burunciuc (2022) illustrates that the cost, capital, and technology needed to change Caribbean countries from fossil fuel-based economies is high. As a result, governmental, non-governmental, local, and international investors are reluctant to support the countries such as Haiti and Guyana in introducing renewable energy sources and production activities. The stakeholders in the energy sector, including the government, do not provide financial support to projects producing and using renewable energy in the public sector. In addition, Burunciuc (2022) notes that the lack or existence of inappropriate clean energy policies, incentives, and laws reduces the abilities of these nations to change their economies and depend on renewable energy. The problem harms the Caribbean and adjacent regions’ economies as well as environmental health. Thus, these nations need systemic changes in the regulatory operations and economic policies to support green energy reforms.
The wide knowledge gap about energy poverty in LAC also causes a high prevalence of energy poverty in the region. Thomson et al. (2022) explain that LAC residents have a limited understanding of the meaning of energy poverty and insecurity. For example, stakeholders have knowledge gaps regarding energy deprivation and fuel poverty. The countries’ residents also have insufficient awareness of energy poverty and vulnerability (Thomson et al., 2022). Likewise, the residents, researchers, scholars, and leaders of Caribbean nations’ energy sector have insufficient knowledge about the causes and implications of energy poverty. In these countries, including Guyana, citizens rarely access, research, or share knowledge about energy insecurity (Thomson et al., 2022). In the end, this affects how residents of Caribbean nations view the negative consequences of high energy costs. The wide knowledge gap in LAC also encourages the countries’ dependency on expensive and imported fossil fuel types (Thomson et al., 2022). The stakeholders in the LAC energy sector have insufficient knowledge about the economic, health, and financial risks of depending on imported and costly fossil fuels, affecting how investors and governments in these nations approach and develop viable solutions to energy poverty and insecurities.
Energy poverty also results from income inequality in Caribbean countries. Nguyen and Nasir (2021) illustrate that countries with high-income disparity make the residents vulnerable to energy and fuel poverty. High income disparity indicates that a huge population in a country lives in poverty. Similarly, in Caribbean nations, high poverty levels are proof of huge income disparity among people from different social classes. In addition, the poor social-economic conditions and citizens’ welfare in most LAC nations also confirm that the nations’ income inequality is high (McIntyre et al., 2021). Pan et al. (2021) indicate that because of high-income disparity in Latin nations, citizens have challenges accepting or adopting clean and green energy solutions. The citizens of nations such as Guyana and Haiti prefer to use fossil fuels for domestic purposes compared to the recommended renewable and sustainable energy sources. The high-income disparity, low-income earned, and poverty-related problems experienced by most populations in LAC reduce the accessibility and affordability of renewable and non-renewable energy in these territories.
High carbon taxation in Caribbean nations also leads to energy poverty. Kuishuang et al. (2018) show that Latin American and Caribbean nations are implementing policy reforms to control the overutilization and reliance on fossil fuels. The countries are also using carbon-taxation policies to encourage and transform from fossil-fuel-based to renewable-energy economics. As a result, governments in the Latin American and Caribbean regions are removing financial subsidies on traditional energy sources. These governments are imposing carbon taxes while incorporating reforms in their subsidy policies on energy production and consumption to promote environmental health (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 2021). These policy changes in taxation requirements are increasing traditional energy prices for middle- and low-income earners, who form a majority of the population in LAC territories. Ultimately, the increased taxation on energy products and services to manage pollution and climate change make these commodities inaccessible in these nations. The high carbon-taxation increases the cost of producing energy as well as the high prices of acquiring them in home and commercial areas.
Finally, improper land use patterns increase energy poverty in Latin America and Caribbean nations. Karekezi et al. (n.d.) indicate that residents in Caribbean countries are improperly using land, reducing the sustainability and longevity of natural resources. The improper methods of land use in the LAC region also lead to environmental pollution and degradation. Karekezi et al. (n.d.) provide that irresponsible and extreme oil and petroleum mining harvesting in the LAC region increases energy poverty risks. The countries engage in land use patterns that destroy their biodiversity and deplete natural resources such as oil (McDonald & Üngör, 2021). In addition, the consequences of improper land use trigger the government to regulate activities such as mining and using fossil fuel products with carbon taxes (Kuishuang et al., 2018). This eventually increases the cost of energy in LAC countries, as well as its scarcity for domestic and commercial users.
Solutions to Energy Poverty and Insecurities in LAC
Policy reforms are the primary intervention to control energy poverty in Latin America and Caribbean nations. Actors of policy changes and implementation in private and public sectors need to develop new laws that govern the production, use, and supply of energy in the countries (Karekezi et al., n.d.). For example, the government can implement policies to enhance energy supply and use in domestic and industrial settings. These include implementing laws that reduce the cost of energy for low- and middle-income earners in Caribbean nations. Concerning this strategy, Lyu et al. (2018) recommend that governments lower the taxes on energy products and services to enhance their affordability, use, and availability for low-income earners. Even though lowering duties such as carbon taxes may encourage the aggressive use of fossil fuel, the energy cost will reduce, increasing access to electricity in rural and low-income regions in LAC. The government can also implement policies that support subsidizing energy production to enhance their affordability and accessibility in LAC.
Reducing the knowledge gap regarding energy poverty in LAC will also control the nations’ socio-economic problem of energy insecurity. Thomson et al. (2022) study reveal that majority of residents in LAC have limited awareness about energy poverty. The citizens of these countries lack the necessary information to understand the causes, implications, and solutions of the energy crisis, poverty, and inaccessibility (Thomson et al., 2022). Based on this situation, the Mahlknecht et al. (2020) study proposes Nexus approaches to make residents of Caribbean countries understand the relationship between energy, food, water, land, climate, weather, and other natural resources. Barnes et al. (2018) indicate that knowledge dissemination programs will also improve access to quality information among Caribbean residents about energy poverty. Scholars, researchers, and professionals in the energy sector should public more research, news, and reports about the energy crisis and insecurity in these countries to improve public knowledge and access to information (Thomson et al., 2022). This will support information-based decision-making when creating and implementing energy crisis solutions in LAC countries.
Finally, introducing renewable energy sources is also a viable intervention to the energy poverty problem in Latin American and Caribbean countries. Sustainable Energy for All (SEforAll) (2020) suggests that these countries should implement strategies that encourage investment in off-and-on-grid renewable and clean energy sources for domestic and manufacturing sectors. Agrawal and Kumar Sharma’s (2018), Chen et al. (2020), as well as Eras-Almeida, and Egido-Aguilera (2019) reports also imply that Caribbean nations can use hybrid energy production systems when implementing green and clean energy solutions in their economies. SEforAll (2020) shows that the hybrid system may include numerous renewable sources available in the LAC region, such as wind, solar, and hydro-power generators. According to Karekezi et al. (n.d.), adopting renewable energy sources will enhance fuel affordability for domestic and industrial use. The change will also stimulate economic recovery in the Caribbean region, with an estimated increase of nearly $ 633 million in the area’s gross domestic product (SEforAll, 2020a). The solution will increase the availability and durability of energy resources in the Caribbean and Latin nations.
Conclusion
Conclusively, in examining Caribbean countries’ energy security and poverty issues, the research assessed the primary causes of the crisis in the LAC region. The paper also proposed appropriate solutions that LAC countries can implement to reduce their vulnerability to energy poverty and insecurity. Additionally, LAC region experiences severe energy poverty, insecurity, and crisis, affecting the residents’ socio-economic development and lives. The problem also affects domestic and industrial operations that depend entirely on the LAC’s inaccessible and unaffordable energy sources. In this sense, the study identifies the primary causes of energy insecurity in LAC as overdependency on fossil fuel, reluctance to adopt renewable energy, and lack of necessary information and awareness among the public regarding energy poverty. In the Caribbean and Latin-speaking nations in America, income inequality, high carbon-taxation, as well as improper land use policies and strategies also increase energy poverty prevalence. On the other hand, the solutions to the energy crisis and poverty in LAC include policy reforms, public awareness creation, and adopting of clean, renewable energy sources for commercial and home use. Based on the research findings, one can conclude that energy poverty is among the primary issues that Caribbean countries such as Guyana face because of poor energy production, use, and conservation measures. The issue is a systemic problem that requires universal as well as multifaced solutions from governmental, non-governmental, and stakeholders in the region’s energy sector.
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