A Path to Sustainably Meeting Haiti’s Energy Needs

Economist and public policy professional Marie Altagrace Astride Nazaire serves as Minister Counsellor for Economic Affairs and lead economist for the Permanent Mission of Haiti to the United Nations. In 2013, Marie Altagrace Astride Nazaire gave a speech to the United Nations in New York on the impact of climate change on Haiti. In her speech, Ms. Nazaire spoke about Haiti’s energy needs and how improvements can be made to move Haiti toward a greener economy.

In 2013, Haiti’s total energy consumption was over 2,000 tons of oil equivalent, or about 200 kilos per capita. Up to 75 percent of its energy was derived from carbon-emitting firewood and charcoal. Petroleum products contributed 21 percent, and electricity made up less than 5 percent. Haitians’ heavy reliance on firewood and charcoal has led to massive deforestation. Today, forests cover only 2 percent of Haiti.

Investing in electricity generation can reduce deforestation in Haiti. It is estimated that the country’s energy needs can be met with 600 megawatts of power. However, current production capacity does not exceed 217 megawatts. Comprehensive investment in electric energy with a focus on hydropower and wind power, both of which have significant potential in the tropical island nation, is needed to power Haiti, maintain and restore its forest cover, and reduce its carbon footprint.

Climate Change Negatively Affecting Public Health

An Indiana University graduate, Marie Altagrace Astride Nazaire has served as minister counselor for the permanent mission of Haiti to the United Nations since 2005. In addition to contributing to macroeconomic policy, Astride Nazaire participates in daily discussions regarding important issues such as climate change.

Much of the public discourse involving climate change focuses on the negative impact global warming has on the environment, but there is growing concern that it has a similar negative affect on public health. Following its 2015 Commission on Health and Climate Change that concluded climate change could threaten the past half-century of public health advances, the Lancet, a leading health research journal, released a subsequent study in 2017 that suggested negative impacts on public health could be much worse than expected. 

Climate change exacerbates extreme weather events, and those natural disasters are typically linked to public health crises. For example, Hurricane Maria had a direct impact on the death of an estimated 64 individuals in Puerto Rico, but further reports suggested that a disruption of health care services led to an additional estimated 1,000 deaths. Consequently, residents of the island with chronic illnesses have seen their conditions worsen as a result of the increased strain on the health care system. 

According to The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health, pollution of water, air, and soil accounts for upwards of nine million deaths per year, and that figure is expected to rise with an increase in natural disasters.

The Barbados Programme of Action of 1994

Marie Altagrace Astride Nazaire serves as Minister Counsellor on the Permanent Mission of Haiti to the United Nations (UN). As part of her role in advocating for the Caribbean community, Astride Nazaire spoke at the UN’s Second Committee on the importance of implementing the Barbados Programme of Action (BPOA) to par development between rich countries and small island developing states (SIDS). 

BPOA was adopted in 1994 at the UN Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of SIDS held in Barbados. The program was backed by the Barbados Declaration, indicating the political will of global leaders to follow up on its mission. 

BPOA highlights the specific development challenges faced by SIDS, including small size that prevents economies of scale, geographic isolation, dependence on international trade, high population density that strains available resources, costly infrastructure, and limited institutional capacities. The program then outlines a 14-point agenda highlighting the actions necessary to address these challenges. These include: addressing climate change, expanding energy resources, managing wastes, supporting national and regional institutions, promoting innovative scientific and technological solutions, and continuously developing human resources.