If anyone ever doubted the need for the Government to stop talking and make a serious move towards ensuring greater use of alternative energy sources, they would, we are sure, have been divested of that doubt on seeing the charge of oil prices over the past few weeks.

Last Thursday, crude oil prices for delivery in April increased to US$111 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange to sell at a record US$110.33 per barrel.

It is an open secret that relentless growth in the Chinese and Indian economies, as well as general instability in oil-producing countries, including Iraq and Nigeria, have contributed to this surge in oil prices.

Now, we are hearing from industry analysts that government-run investment funds from oil-rich nations may be adding speculative heat to the market which, we all accept, is already hot.
A report posted by The Associated Press (AP) yesterday explained that these sovereign-wealth funds, by placing bets in futures markets, are no different than hedge funds, pension funds and other institutional investors, with one exception: at the same time they profit by trading "paper" barrels, their governments' oil companies also reap huge sums pumping black gold for consumers worldwide.
Added the AP, some analysts estimate that the stampede by investment banks, hedge funds and other institutional investors into oil futures has lifted the price by as much as US$30.

The likelihood of triple-digit oil prices will most surely reshape the global economic and political map, and some of the old notions of power will undoubtedly face challenges.

As it now stands, the world's major oil importersare facing rising economic and social costs, while oil-rich countries are enjoying extraordinary gains and opportunities.

Here in Jamaica, we have seen the devastating effects of this surge in oil prices on the cost of food, other goods and services.

Just last week, the Jamaica Public Service Company was forced to highlight the fact that although we experienced a reversal in the fuel rate on bills in March at $13.49, compared to the $13.86 charged in February, the cost of energy has been climbing over the last year because of the increase in oil prices on the world market.

An indication of the dramatic movement in the price of oil can be clearly seen by looking at the fuel rate in March last year, which was $7.50.

While we accept that the events we have outlined here are outside Jamaica's control, the fact is that we cannot escape their consequences. As such, it is important that we decrease our dependency on oil as a source of energy.

But this argument is not new. It has been made repeatedly in these columns and elsewhere on numerous occasions in the past, especially at those times when there is a spike in the price of oil.

What concerns us is that each time oil prices shoot up our governments engage in a knee-jerk reaction and every minister and his/her deputy wax eloquently about the need to diversify our energy sources. The problem is that they do precious little to transform their words into action. So, for instance, incentives to encourage Jamaicans to invest in solar and wind energy are talked about but not implemented.

The current Government, while in Opposition, pledged in their election manifesto to "pursue all available options to establish the most appropriate energy mix based on cheaper sources, including coal, natural gas, ethanol and other bio-fuels, hydro-electric and solar and wind power".

We are still waiting on them to "provide the necessary incentives and regulatory framework to encourage this diversification".

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