WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday pledged US aid to end Caribbean and Central American dependency on foreign oil, as she slammed "powerful political interests" against such measures.
She also said it was "shameful" that the region had some of the highest electricity rates on the planet, despite nearby countries like Canada, Venezuela, Mexico and the United States having vast crude oil reserves.
Clinton, speaking before some 30 regional ministers at a meeting of the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas, a program launched one year ago by President Barack Obama, unveiled six new initiatives including US "support (for) energy and environmental security in Central America."
"There will need to be some legal changes in the Caribbean and Central America, and there will need to be real leadership and political will to stand up against those who profit from imported oil," she said.
"I know there are powerful political interests that dominate your imported oil markets that are very hard to take on," she warned.
"But you are beggaring your countries if you do not take them on and pass new laws that will create a new energy future and free up money that can be invested in health and education and raising the incomes of your people."
Clinton said the United States was also eager to help advance sustainable energy in the Caribbean, which she described as "the area of the world most dependent on imported fossil fuels, and suffering from the world's highest electricity rates.
"That's shameful in our hemisphere," she said, adding that the region could and should be benefiting from large sources of geothermal power in the Dominican Republic and natural gas in Trinidad and Tobago.
There was praise from Clinton for the "first-wave initiatives" in the region, such as Costa Rica's effort to become the world's first carbon-neutral country by using renewable energy sources, but said more needed to be done.
"Energy is one of the keys that will unlock what has been a consistent challenge over so many decades," namely the widening income gap, she said.
As an example of the disparities, she cited the misery of Haiti, now experiencing the region's greatest energy crisis. After its catastrophic earthquake in January, fewer than 30 percent of residents now have access to electricity, she said.
Clinton thanked the government of Venezuela, Latin America's leading exporter of crude and a frequent critic of Washington, for "the support that you have given... in supplying energy to the people of Haiti.
Among the other initiatives Clinton called for was more development in the region of unconventional natural gas from shale.
Such extraction technology has improved dramatically in recent years, leading to a boom in shale gas which some experts believe could revolutionize the industry within a decade.
Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ilmSpuLE6v5jvz9JPzMAcExhdsiA
She also said it was "shameful" that the region had some of the highest electricity rates on the planet, despite nearby countries like Canada, Venezuela, Mexico and the United States having vast crude oil reserves.
Clinton, speaking before some 30 regional ministers at a meeting of the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas, a program launched one year ago by President Barack Obama, unveiled six new initiatives including US "support (for) energy and environmental security in Central America."
"There will need to be some legal changes in the Caribbean and Central America, and there will need to be real leadership and political will to stand up against those who profit from imported oil," she said.
"I know there are powerful political interests that dominate your imported oil markets that are very hard to take on," she warned.
"But you are beggaring your countries if you do not take them on and pass new laws that will create a new energy future and free up money that can be invested in health and education and raising the incomes of your people."
Clinton said the United States was also eager to help advance sustainable energy in the Caribbean, which she described as "the area of the world most dependent on imported fossil fuels, and suffering from the world's highest electricity rates.
"That's shameful in our hemisphere," she said, adding that the region could and should be benefiting from large sources of geothermal power in the Dominican Republic and natural gas in Trinidad and Tobago.
There was praise from Clinton for the "first-wave initiatives" in the region, such as Costa Rica's effort to become the world's first carbon-neutral country by using renewable energy sources, but said more needed to be done.
"Energy is one of the keys that will unlock what has been a consistent challenge over so many decades," namely the widening income gap, she said.
As an example of the disparities, she cited the misery of Haiti, now experiencing the region's greatest energy crisis. After its catastrophic earthquake in January, fewer than 30 percent of residents now have access to electricity, she said.
Clinton thanked the government of Venezuela, Latin America's leading exporter of crude and a frequent critic of Washington, for "the support that you have given... in supplying energy to the people of Haiti.
Among the other initiatives Clinton called for was more development in the region of unconventional natural gas from shale.
Such extraction technology has improved dramatically in recent years, leading to a boom in shale gas which some experts believe could revolutionize the industry within a decade.
Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ilmSpuLE6v5jvz9JPzMAcExhdsiA
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