After eight weeks of intense instruction and practice, 123 energy professionals from 14 CARICOM member States graduated from the globally recognised Low Emissions Analysis Platform (LEAP) training programme. Upon completion, many of the graduates describe the programme as a transformative and empowering experience that has given them the tools to make meaningful contributions to CARICOM’s Energy transformation.
The LEAP, a powerful software system for integrated energy planning and climate mitigation assessment, was designed by the Stockholm Environment Institution (SEI), who also facilitated the training in partnership with the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute (GHGMI).

Learn more about the programme here: https://bit.ly/EnergyLEAP.

University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine Student, Mr. Graham King, said that the training provided a useful and accessible approach to energy modelling. He noted that though most of the participants started the programme as novices, they were given solid instruction and developed skills they could “run with and sink [their] teeth into’.
UWI Mona Student, Mr. Duncan Mckain also praised the facilitators for their in-depth instruction that, “should make policy planning much simpler.” Mr. McKain added that because one does not need powerful computing to use the LEAP software, it would be particularly impactful in low to mid-income countries who may not have widespread access to these resources. the This is particularly encouraging for him as he plans to analyse energy resources for low to mid-income countries in his Master’s Thesis.

Ms. Kathryn Siriram, who heard about the training programme through the Regional Energy Apprenticeship Programme (REAP) of which she is apart, said that recommendations for energy policy changes cannot be very strong without the relevant data and models to support those recommendations. The training programme, she said, strengthens her ability to make accurate and impactful recommendations on the job. Ms. Siriram hopes that there will be further training in the future.
The LEAP training is an intervention of the Information and Capacity Building component of the European Union and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ) funded Technical Assistance Programme for Sustainable Energy in the Caribbean (TAPSEC). The TAPSEC is implemented by the GIZ in collaboration with the CARICOM Secretariat and the Ministry of Energy and Mines in the Dominican Republic.