Online Capacity Building to Support Sustainable Energy in Small Island Developing States
Creating a network of regional sustainable energy centres for SIDS
Challenges
The development of inclusive sustainable energy technology markets in Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) requires a critical mass of professionals in the private and public sectors. However, many SIDS have a shortage of training institutions and quality programmes that respond to the particular needs and priorities of islands and that are affordable.
Towards a Solution
To address this challenge, an online sustainable energy capacity building programme was established for SIDS around the world. The programme was developed under the umbrella of the Global Network of Regional Sustainable Energy Centres (GN-SEC) by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Small Island Developing States Sustainable Energy and Climate Resilience Initiative (SIDS DOCK) and the Spanish Centre for Research in Energy, Environment and Technology (CIEMAT).
This programme is part of a wider multi-stakeholder and triangular partnership directed to implement the SAMOA Pathway, SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) and the Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement (SDG 13). In 2014, UNIDO, the Government of Austria and SIDS DOCK signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) starting the partnership. The partnership is creating a network of regional sustainable energy centres for SIDS in Africa, the Caribbean, the Pacific and the Indian Ocean. In October 2015, the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE) was formally established in Bridgetown, Barbados. The ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) based in Praia, Cabo Verde, and established in 2010, acts as the SIDS DOCK hub for Africa. In the Pacific region, a centre (PCREEE) was established in 2017 and the SADC Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (SACREEE) was set up in 2015.
This global network of regional sustainable energy centres (referred to as GN-SEC) is a powerful global South-South multi-stakeholder partnership, coordinated by UNIDO’s Energy Department in partnership with various regional economic communities and organizations. The regional centres respond to the need for greater South-South cooperation and the building of capacities to promote inclusive and sustainable energy industries and markets in developing and transforming countries. The centres enjoy high levels of support from energy ministries and respond to the individual needs of national governments. The regional centres play an instrumental role in empowering local energy industries to take advantage of growing renewable energy and energy efficiency market opportunities.
The new online capacity building programme is complementing the efforts of UNIDO and its partners in renewable energy in SIDS. through the GN-SEC initiative. Online training is available free of charge and is disseminated through the regional renewable energy and efficiency centres around the world in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
SIDS energy experts in the Pacific, Caribbean, Indian Ocean and Africa have contributed to the curriculum, which is based on good practices for sustainable energy development in SIDS. The programme includes nine online modules covering the following technologies and energy issues: solar photovoltaics, solar thermal technologies, ocean energy technologies, bioenergy, energy efficiency and thermal optimization in buildings, mini-grids, energy storage in insular power systems, e-mobility and an overview on energy, climate change mitigation and resilience in island regions. Learning takes place in an e-learning platform and delivery can be done either via self-study or through trainers.
The programme targets policymakers in energy and related sectors, national institutions in charge of promoting sustainable energy and rural energy, educational and training institutions, energy manufacturing and service industries and national utilities and regulators. The program was developed on the basis of quality criteria defined by the Spanish Centre for Research in Energy, Environment and Technology (CIEMAT) in terms of scientific and technical expertise, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) tools, methodological and pedagogical resources. Large-scale dissemination of the programme is planned for 2021. The programme also features a Training of Trainers function, so that the training can be replicated and scaled up as needed and national and regional training institutions in SIDS are encouraged to include the programme in their curricula.
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Primary SDG
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