The Mia Mottley administration is moving to aggressively reduce Barbados’ dependence on imported oil in the face of volatile energy prices, the prime minister said in a 90‑minute defence of the Budget in Parliament late on Wednesday.
The transition to renewable energy would be supported by increased battery storage capacity and other measures, said Mottley, who announced she would convene an urgent national colloquium on energy security next month as part of a broader push to build economic resilience.
“We have to have a serious conversation about our vulnerability to oil shocks,” said Mottley.
She framed the initiative as a critical next step in Barbados’ economic reform programme, warning that global instability continues to expose the country to significant risk.
The prime minister pointed to the country’s experience during the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when the fuel import bill surged to approximately $1.1bn, up from $728m, as supply disruptions triggered soaring oil prices.
Mottley said: “We, last year, spent $728m importing oil. That was the same amount, by the way, we spent in 2019. But when oil prices went up in 2022, when oil went up about $120m a barrel, we spent $1.122bn importing oil in a country that got sun, that got wind. What folly is this?”
With a fresh conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran now contributing to renewed uncertainty in global energy markets, she cautioned that similar shocks could again have serious consequences for the island.
“If God forbid, oil goes up to $200 [a barrel], I said to the Minister of Finance, there is no arithmetical solution. There’s no mathematical solution to oil at $200. The only solution … is change of behaviour.
“Change of behaviour on the part of government, change of behaviour on the part of households, change of behaviour on the part of businesses. Are we going to wait for that moment to happen in a volatile world? Or are we going to take control of our circumstances and determine what is it we must protect ourselves?”
“We move, being at war as the world is, with absolute speed and efficiency to acquire the batteries necessary to be able to reduce Barbados’ reliance on imported fossil fuels to negligible amounts.”
She told the House that Barbados is now entering a new phase focused on strengthening self‑sufficiency and reducing exposure to external shocks, particularly in energy.
Mottley also stressed that renewable energy initiatives could serve as a tool for economic enfranchisement.
“We need to make sure that whoever is delivering the energy to people are not exploiting households … And we need to make sure that if we are creating new opportunities for energy generation, as we have done, we use it as a democratising and an enfranchising tool for the creation of wealth in this country as well.”
She also mounted a strong defence of the Budget’s cost‑of‑living measures, insisting they are designed to protect the most vulnerable while maintaining fiscal discipline.
“This government has shown you that even where there is peril, and even where there is challenge, we will stay focused on being able to deliver, because we have come to Parliament to stop poor people from being poor,” she said.
She pointed to expanded reverse tax credits for low‑income earners, increased tax relief for pensioners, and new initiatives such as the Barbados Republic Child Wealth Fund.
Mottley added that the government had made a conscious effort to cushion vulnerable households, noting that social spending has risen significantly in recent years, even as difficult fiscal decisions were required.
“Poverty is not only about economic policy, but about the social things — the abuse, the physical challenges — all of those things help to constitute poverty… intergenerational poverty, and dealing with it and getting rid of it is the mission of this government.”
Acknowledging that middle‑income earners remain under pressure, she said the government had been unable to go as far as it would have liked.
She nonetheless pointed to continued economic progress, including sustained growth, a reduction in the country’s debt from over 170 per cent of GDP to just above 90 per cent, and foreign reserves now exceeding $3bn. She contended that the Budget ought not to be examined in a vacuum, but as part of a continuous process of upward social and economic mobility since her party came into office in 2018.
“We have had 18 straight quarters of growth… on the cusp of five straight years of economic growth in this country. But the one thing that has defined this government is that those achievements could never be enough. Because as long as there are poor people, as long as there is injustice, and as long as it is necessary to create opportunities for people, there is still road to be trod. There is still work to be done.”
PM’s say – What to know
- PM frames renewable energy as a tool for economic enfranchisement, wealth creation.
- Vow to speed up transition to renewable energy to cut dependence on imported oil.
- National colloquium on energy security to be held next month to shape urgent policy decisions.
- Fuel import bill jumped from $728m in 2019 to $1.1bn in 2022 amid global supply shocks.
- New push to boost battery storage, reduce exposure to volatile global oil markets.
- Behavioural change required as oil price surges could devastate small economies.
- Debt down from above 170% of GDP to just over 90%, with foreign reserves now surpassing $3bn.
(TD)
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