UNATT combats Climate Change issues through a Renewable Energy project which aims at the sensitisation towards these concepts within various schools/communities throughout Trinidad and Tobago

The United Nations Association of Trinidad and Tobago (UNATT), with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP), began implementing a Renewable Energy (RE) Project entitled “Mainstreaming Renewable Energy Resources and Raising Youth Awareness in Schools and Community Service Organizations in Trinidad and Tobago”. This project is an extension, by replication and up-scaling, of a previous, successfully completed GEF /SGP project in 2012 - “Mainstreaming Renewable Energy Resources in the Secondary School Laboratories and Raising Youth Awareness on Diversified Renewable energy (RE) Solutions in Trinidad and Tobago”.

The project has  three main objectives which include: 1) Installation and operation of RE systems as practical examples in schools and on the premises of community service organizations which will serve as demonstration centres.  2) Sensitisation to RE concepts to the wider public through knowledge management tools (fairs, workshops and media) and 3) Education and training of youths involved in the project to the RE industry.  The project is currently in stage one, and the most recent activity included the installations of seven solar units - four of which were conventional solar panel units, for example at Goodwill Industries, where the school has utilised their solar unit to fuel their current aquaponics system; and three were solar charging stations, for example at Birdsong Academy, where youths were able to charge their cellphones.

Today,  in commemoration for World Environment Day, UNATT is playing its part, by showcasing the successes of the project thus far and raising awareness of Renewable Energy (RE) concepts and the impact this change can have on Climate Change - not only in our country but on an international scale. This RE project is aligned to the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) formulated by the United Nations and is specifically connected to the recently signed Paris Agreement on Climate Change (signed on Earth Day – 22nd April, 2016) which stemmed from the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris (COP21).  This agreement was not only signed by Trinidad and Tobago but we also submitted our commitments to the reduction of carbon emissions through our Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs).

UNATT members, along with invited guests, are visiting one of the carded (to be installed) sites at Toco Composite School, where they will tour the location for installation and showcase its possible impact on the school and students.