13 October 2011: The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved a US$2 million grant to finance a more energy efficient tourism industry in the Caribbean. The Caribbean Hotel Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Action– Advanced Program (CHENACT–AP) was presented during the Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum (CREF).

The CHENACT–AP will span over the duration of four years and focus on conducting energy audits for hotels to cut energy consumption costs in terms of lighting, water consumption and air conditioning. The programme will be carried out in hotels in Barbados, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Guyana. The grant will also finance a new programme for hotels to generate and sell carbon credits on international markets through bundles of carbon emission reductions that result from greater energy efficiency. [IDB Press Release]