Carbon War Room announce partnership to transition Aruba to 100% renewable energy
- By Helen Craig -
- Jun 20, 2012
Richard Branson and Aruba PM Mike Eman have just announced a partnership with the Carbon War Room (CWR) to transition the island to 100% renewable energy, during the Rio+20 conference.
The partnership would make Aruba the world’s first sustainable energy economy, with the Carbon War Room and New America Foundation working to both devise and implement an integrated strategy for the economy-wide transition – a world first, if successful.
Richard Branson, who is also the founder of the CWR said “I am thrilled that the Carbon War Room can help make a difference for Aruba and its people. Aruba can set a wonderful example for other Island Nations to prove that they CAN get rid of fossil fuels, protect their wonderful natural resources and still grow their economy – brilliant!”
Although Aruba has already made significant advances towards sustainability, this partnership will bring together the expertise and political will to create and implement a fully integrated strategy for sustainable prosperity.
A sustainable growth roadmap will be developed that is consistent with Aruba’s consensus driven policy-making approach of “social dialogue” and will include preliminary action areas covering transport, energy efficiency, water minimisation, renewables, tourism and agriculture.
“My vision is to create a social and economic resilience for Aruba that will improve the health, happiness and wellbeing of its citizens. I believe that today’s commitment will propel Aruba to the next level in our progress toward achieving sustainability,” said Mike Eman, Prime Minister, Aruba.
The CWR also launched its new ‘Smart Island Economies’ operation with the aim of developing a successful model for low carbon plan implementation that can be replicated across other Caribbean and Pacific islands that wish to take that pathway. It plans to attract top tier technology companies to work on Aruba, and hopes to attract philanthropic funding at the early stages to catalyse private investment.
More information will be available soon on Carbon War Room New Bulletin page: www.carbonwarroom.com/news
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By Helen Craig. Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability at Virgin. Tweets @helcraig
