Adding his voice to a growing number of environmentalists and conservationists in the region, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham has said that the “importance of achieving a sustainable energy future is critical” for the Caribbean.

The Bahamian prime minister made the statement as part of his welcome address to delegates at CREF 2010–The Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum, which took place 13-15 October at Atlantis Paradise Island.

The forum gathers together some of the region’s key innovators, industry leaders and prominent policy makers in the fields of renewable energy, green technology and sustainability.

The conference included key note addresses and panel sessions from over 60 speakers, including Prime Minister Ingraham, US Ambassador to the Bahamas Nicole Avant, and executive vice president of the Bahamas Hotel Association Frank Comito, as well as government representatives and dignitaries from around the Caribbean region.

The annual forum aims to highlight issues concerning the long-term energy security in the region and the creation of a sustainable framework for alternative energy production. This year’s conference specifically tackled the financial, regulatory, policy and technological obstacles to renewable energy implementation across the region.

In his address the prime minister said that The Bahamas, in particular, faces a number of environmental challenges, primarily the threat from global warming–noting that a 2m rise in sea level would submerge 80 per cent of the nation’s landmass.

“Still, for the most part we remain dependent on imported fossil fuels for transport and electricity generation,” the prime minister went on to say. “And ‘business as usual’ will put us at even greater risk in the years ahead.”

To that end, he continued, the Bahamian government is “beginning to make measured strides toward shaping a more efficient energy future with the interested involvement of our citizenry including our business communities.”

However, the premier acknowledged that the road to sustainability “was long and difficult.”

“We accept that we in The Bahamas have vast, yet untapped renewable energy resources. Of course, the practical application of these technologies is not without limitations whether structural, geographical, financial, or economic.”