The “Policy Dialogue for Just Energy Transitions: Identifying Pathways to Prosperity Post Fossil Fuels”, co-hosted by Climate Strategies and Salzburg Global Seminar from September 8 to 12, 2024, brought together policymakers, decisionmakers, and leading researchers from ten oil and gas producing countries as well as representatives from international organisations. They shared and discussed evidence-based approaches to the transition from fossil fuel dependent economies to inclusive, equitable, and sustainable systems. As part of our efforts to ground the dialogue in evidence-based research, we commissioned five in-country briefs exploring just energy transitions in oil and gas producing nations. This briefing provides insights into the energy landscape in Trinidad and Tobago.

Key Takeaways:

• Trinidad and Tobago’s economy is highly dependent on fossil fuel revenues. The oil and gas sector represented around 37% of nominal GDP, 55% of fiscal revenues and 81% of overall exports in 2022.  

• The country needs to accelerate income diversification away from fossil fuel exports towards sectors such as sustainable agriculture, services, tourism, and low-carbon manufacturing, in order to reduce political and economic barriers to the transition. 

• The draft just transition policy, currently being finalised, aims to support renewable energy integration, identify new decent jobs and capitalise on low-carbon industrial opportunities. It should be integrated with existing climate and energy policies into an overarching decarbonisation roadmap for Trinidad and Tobago.