by TREVOR YEARWOOD

A CONFERENCE on a "green economy" for Barbados has thrown up thought-provoking suggestions, including a water-taxi service and special lanes on the highway for bicycles and buses.

But it also raised the issue of whether Barbadians would be willing to accept a lower return on their investment in banks so the institutions could adequately fund "green" projects and meet their corporate social responsibilities.

Managing director and chief executive officer of Barbados National Bank (BNB), Robert LeHunte, said while shareholders and other investors wanted their institutions to fund projects to help the poor, they often baulked at the idea of accepting lower returns on their investment so this could be done.

Somebody pays

"There is nothing like a free lunch; somebody pays for it," the banker warned.

LeHunte was taking part in one of a number of panel discussions when the Ministry of Energy and the Environment and the National Subcommittee on Trade and Environment held their eighth annual seminar.

The focus of the meeting at Amaryllis Beach Resort in Hastings, Christ Church, was The Green Economy – one in which the good of the environment takes priority, with a range of policies for reducing pollution and increasing use of renewable energy.

The meeting opened with Ministry of Public Works civil engineer Jason Bowen outlining several concepts that could be talking points as Barbados seeks to reduce traffic congestion and the resultant air pollution.

These include a railway system, road tolls, auto restricted zones and rural public transport hubs. Bowen, however, admitted that the cost of a light rail system appeared prohibitively high and that highway tolls were viewed as impositions only for new roads.

The audience also raised key issues: the need for a designated highway strip for cyclists; a buses-only highway lane at peak travel times; and a water-taxi (ferry) service to reduce congestion on the highways.

Bowen said the ministry would "look at" the suggestions as it considered how best to tackle transportation problems.

Recycling

One suggestion from the floor was the shipping overseas of used fluorescent light bulbs for recycling, and ensuring they were not indiscriminately disposed of locally because of a reported low mercury content.

The meeting also dealt with the threat of rising temperatures due to global warming.

Professor of economics at the University of the West Indies, Nlandu Mamingi, said the challenge posed to the Caribbean included rising sea levels and the resultant flooding, which could hurt coastal infrastructure, tourism, transportation, agriculture and food security.

Standing in for Minister Elizabeth Thompson, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and the Environment, Lionel Nurse, said: "Until recently, the global trend for industries was to take a dim view of the idea of 'greening' and environmental stewardship."

This was because it meant incurring significant costs to protect the environment which was not accompanied by a commensurate increase in profit.

"That is no longer the case," he pointed out.