St. George’s, February 23, 2010: Prime Minister Hon. Tillman Thomas says the successful exploitation of Grenada’s sustainable energy resources is the foundation for energy security, sustained economic growth and national development.

Addressing the Summit of Caribbean and Latin American leaders in Mexico on Energy Security and Climate Change in the Region, the Prime Minister said his administration will “aggressively move to reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuels through the development of geothermal, wind and solar energy, to reduce fossil fuels imported for power generation.”

The Grenadian leader told delegates, with access to investment and appropriate technology, his country’s geothermal potential, if proven to be technically and economically feasible for exploitation, will place the island on a sustainable energy path. He said Grenada’s electricity could be 100% renewable by 2020, with the use of renewable energy and appropriate technology.

“The way forward for us is therefore, to look for ways to develop our renewable energy potential as rapidly and as efficiently as possible, to put the region on a sustainable development path,” the Prime Minister, who also led the fight at the Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen for new global emission targets, told delegates.

He called for genuine South-South cooperation between Mexico and the region to help in the exploitation of renewable energy and reduce the dependence on fossil fuels, which the Prime Minister said, pose a threat to the environment and to the survival of small island states.

He described as “a burden”, the regions expenditure of more than US$12 billion or 21%  of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on petroleum imports per year for electricity generation and transport.

“This significant amount of our foreign exchange that we have to spend on imported energy every year is a burden to our social and economic development and one which we have to address,” he said. The Grenadian leader said the issue becomes “even more urgent”, considering the contribution of fossil fuels to climate change.