16 October 2014: The Turks and Caicos Islands has committed to working to increase renewable energy production and energy efficiency through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Carbon War Room and the Rocky Mountain Institute to join the ‘Ten Island Challenge’ initiative, which supports Caribbean islands in moving away from fossil-fuel dependence by identifying technical and commercial solutions for facilitating low-carbon energy use.

The MoU builds on a commitment by Turks and Caicos’ Governor Peter Beckingham to join the Challenge, made at the ‘Creating Climate Wealth Island Summit’ in February 2014. Under the MoU, the initiative partners provide the Turks and Caicos Islands with technical and project management, communications and business advisory support services to enable the islands territory to define and implement its “clean economy” vision.

The overall goal of the Ten Island Challenge is to accelerate the transition in Caribbean islands from fossil-fuel dependent to renewable resource-based economies. The initiative is the result of a challenge presented by UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres to the Carbon War Room during the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) in June 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to work with ten Caribbean islands in accelerating their transition away from fossil fuels.

The Carbon War Room is a not-for-profit organization founded by Richard Branson, which seeks to accelerate the adoption of business solutions to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions on a large scale by using proven technologies, under current policy landscapes. The Rocky Mountain Institute, a not-for-profit organization, promotes market-based solutions for a clean, prosperous and secure energy future. [Carbon War Room Press Release] [The Ten Island Challenge Factsheet]