SANTO DOMINGO.- The Dominican Republic is the third biggest producer of carbon dioxide emissions in the Caribbean but could have a complete system of efficient, renewable energy production and public transportation “within 15 or 20 years,” said deputy environment minister Ernesto Reyna today, in a press conference at the 16th Forum of Environment Ministers of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The meeting continues in Santo Domingo until Friday, where representatives from 33 countries and various UN commissions agree yesterday that developing alternative energy production is a high priority for mitigating the effects of climate change in the Caribbean.

Kakuko Nagatani, an officer with the Division of Early Warning and Assessment of the United Nation Environment Programme (UNEP), said at this morning`s press conference that power generation and transportation are the two biggest sources of carbon dioxide emissions. Those emissions are believed by scientists to be a major contributing factor to a global trend of climate change that has accelerated in the past 12 years, producing more frequent and intense weather phenomena like hurricanes that cause the greatest harm to vulnerable populations in less-developed countries.

A statement issued by UNEP said the Dominican Republic produces 4.85 million metric tonnes of the greenhouse gas every year according to 2005 statistics, making it the third biggest emitter out of 18 Caribbean countries after Trinidad and Tobago (10.4 million metric tonnes) and Cuba (8.9 million metric tonnes).

Reyna, who is also the commissioner of the Dominican government`s focus group on climate change, said renewable energy projects currently in development across the country will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and help protect its biodiversity. He said the El Guanillo wind farm in ___, which was approved in 2006 and could potentially reduce emissions by 123,916 tonnes per year once operational, is just one reduction strategy being explored by government.

He said the Santo Domingo metro is an important part of developing a cleaner and more efficient public transportation system in the nation`s capital, reducing the amount of emissions from personal vehicles.

Orlando Rey, Director of Environment of the Cuban Secretariat for Science, Technology and Environment and a consultant for UNEP, said at the press conference that climate change intervention must occur at all levels of government and society and include strategies for preventing losses of life and tourism infrastructure from future storms and natural disasters, especially in coastal areas.