WILLEMSTAD – Curaçao’s Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas addressed the opening of the second Climate and Energy Conference yesterday, stressing the urgent need to accelerate efforts against what he called the greatest challenge of our generation: climate change. 

Pisas highlighted Curaçao’s collaboration with the Blue Planet Alliance and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) on implementing a roadmap aiming for a complete transition to 100% renewable energy by 2045. He expressed his full support for this ambitious goal. 

“Although the participating countries are small or coastal, we are already experiencing the effects of climate disruption,” Pisas said. “Sea levels are rising, storms are intensifying, droughts are occurring, heatwaves and biodiversity loss are becoming more frequent. These are not future predictions, but our current reality.” 

Despite these challenges, the Prime Minister emphasized that there are also real opportunities for island nations to transform their energy systems. He envisions strengthening resilience and positioning the Caribbean as a hub for climate technology innovation and green energy development. 

The conference aims to bring together regional leaders and experts to advance strategies for sustainable energy and climate resilience in vulnerable island communities.