Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic nation in the southern Caribbean, located northeast of Venezuela and south of Grenada. Unlike many other Caribbean nations, the island has a relatively large industrial base. It is the largest producer of oil and gas in the Caribbean, sectors that contribute 46% to GDP. With a contribution to the GDP of around 1%, tourism constitutes a much smaller proportion of the nation’s economy than is the case for other Caribbean nations.
The state of Trinidad and Tobago completed its TNA in 2023. Trinidad and Tobago differs from other TNA countries in the region by focusing primarily on mitigation, with adaptation treated in a more holistic way to increase resilience in all sectors. The TNA contributes to deepening the analysis of the target sectors and technologies in the Carbon Reduction Strategy and to take these further towards implementation, for example, by drawing up project concept notes and proposals.
The approach adopted for mitigation focused on the country’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and its Implementation Plan (NDC IP) under the Paris Agreement as an area of priority implementation, as the NDC process had already undergone comprehensive stakeholder consultation and its implementation was deemed a priority from a national policy perspective. The analysis focused on the three sectors addressed in the NDC and the NDC IP: power generation, industry, and transport. The prioritised technologies comprised: Power Sector – utility scale solar power generation; Industry – carbon capture and storage, and biofuels; Transportation: – electric vehicles, and information communication technology (ICT) for intelligent traffic management systems.
The adaptation part built upon extensive work done in climate adaptation and mitigation including the Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (VCA) conducted in 2018. The chosen sectors were agriculture, health, and water. Within these sectors, the prioritised technologies were: Agriculture – solar-powered pressurized irrigation, and caterpillar tunnels; Water – rooftop rainwater harvesting and, and smart water metering.
Two project ideas were developed – one for mitigation (in the transport sector) and one for mitigation (in the agriculture sector) both of which will derive co-benefits in other sectors examined under the TNA. The transport sector idea was subsequently developed further into a draft concept note on “Solar energy charging for electric vehicles” for possible submission to a funding agency.
Trinidad and Tobago’s TNA contributes to the following Sustainable Development Goals:
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