{"id":125478,"date":"2021-03-16T08:02:18","date_gmt":"2021-03-16T12:02:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=125478"},"modified":"2021-03-16T08:02:18","modified_gmt":"2021-03-16T12:02:18","slug":"green-transition-in-islands-hamstrung-by-debt-says-antigua-barbuda-pm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/green-transition-in-islands-hamstrung-by-debt-says-antigua-barbuda-pm\/","title":{"rendered":"Green transition in islands hamstrung by debt, says Antigua &#038; Barbuda PM"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"antig-933307092\" class=\"antig-ecab antig-entity-placement\"><a href=\"https:\/\/discoverflow.co\/web\/antigua\" aria-label=\"ANU CVP Digital Broadband 1200x400_1\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1201\/h:401\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1201\/h:401\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 1201w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:300\/h:100\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1024\/h:342\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:768\/h:256\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" width=\"1201\" height=\"401\"   \/><\/a><\/div><div id=\"antig-2540685655\" class=\"antig-before-content antig-entity-placement\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/medicalbenefitsscheme\" aria-label=\"PHOTO-2026-04-07-10-45-56\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1200\/h:400\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PHOTO-2026-04-07-10-45-56.jpg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1200\/h:400\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PHOTO-2026-04-07-10-45-56.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:300\/h:100\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PHOTO-2026-04-07-10-45-56.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1024\/h:341\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PHOTO-2026-04-07-10-45-56.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:768\/h:256\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PHOTO-2026-04-07-10-45-56.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" width=\"1200\" height=\"400\"   \/><\/a><\/div><p class=\"Paragraph-paragraph-2Bgue ArticleBody-para-TD_9x\">BARCELONA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) &#8211; With its tourism-reliant economy bowed by debt, and facing climate shocks and now the COVID-19 crisis, the tiny Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda will require more international funding to transition to green energy, its prime minister said.<\/p><div id=\"antig-3247645788\" class=\"antig-content_5 antig-entity-placement\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ablpag\" aria-label=\"PHOTO-2026-04-07-23-18-33\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1600\/h:800\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PHOTO-2026-04-07-23-18-33.jpg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1600\/h:800\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PHOTO-2026-04-07-23-18-33.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:300\/h:150\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PHOTO-2026-04-07-23-18-33.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1024\/h:512\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PHOTO-2026-04-07-23-18-33.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:768\/h:384\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PHOTO-2026-04-07-23-18-33.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1536\/h:768\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PHOTO-2026-04-07-23-18-33.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" width=\"1600\" height=\"800\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-paragraph-2Bgue ArticleBody-para-TD_9x\">Gaston Browne, a former banker and businessman who came to power in 2014, said his island country of less than 100,000 people had decided to slow down an earlier drive to switch to renewable energy, to avoid tipping itself further into debt.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-paragraph-2Bgue ArticleBody-para-TD_9x\">He told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that, with pandemic restrictions preventing international tourist travel, the nation\u2019s economy was likely to shrink by about 30% in 2020-21, pushing up its debt-to-GDP ratio from just under 70% to 95%.<\/p><div id=\"antig-2153046172\" class=\"antig-content_4 antig-entity-placement\"><a href=\"https:\/\/discoverflow.co\/web\/antigua\" aria-label=\"ANU CVP Digital Broadband 1200x400_1\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1201\/h:401\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1201\/h:401\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 1201w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:300\/h:100\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1024\/h:342\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:768\/h:256\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" width=\"1201\" height=\"401\"   \/><\/a><\/div><div id=\"antig-1645669782\" class=\"antig-content_12 antig-entity-placement\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ablpag\" aria-label=\"PHOTO-2026-04-07-23-18-33\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1600\/h:800\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PHOTO-2026-04-07-23-18-33.jpg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1600\/h:800\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PHOTO-2026-04-07-23-18-33.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:300\/h:150\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PHOTO-2026-04-07-23-18-33.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1024\/h:512\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PHOTO-2026-04-07-23-18-33.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:768\/h:384\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PHOTO-2026-04-07-23-18-33.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1536\/h:768\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PHOTO-2026-04-07-23-18-33.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" width=\"1600\" height=\"800\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-paragraph-2Bgue ArticleBody-para-TD_9x\">That is a serious problem shared by other already fiscally squeezed small island states, many of which now face a \u201cperilous situation of debt\u201d due to economic woes caused by the pandemic, Browne said.<\/p><div id=\"antig-903212479\" class=\"antig-content antig-entity-placement\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ReggaeInTheParkAntigua\" aria-label=\"lucanio\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:864\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/lucanio.jpeg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:864\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/lucanio.jpeg 1080w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:240\/h:300\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/lucanio.jpeg 240w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:819\/h:1024\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/lucanio.jpeg 819w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:768\/h:960\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/lucanio.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1350\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-paragraph-2Bgue ArticleBody-para-TD_9x\">\u201cI am afraid we could find ourselves in a debt crisis and that all of the (development) gains we have made over the last several decades&#8230; could be eroded,\u201d he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a phone interview.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-paragraph-2Bgue ArticleBody-para-TD_9x\">That would reduce the ability of governments to borrow money to help them ditch dirty imported fuel oil, which most rely on as their main supply of energy, and instead install technology to move to cleaner sources such as solar and wind, he noted.<\/p><div id=\"antig-3437260235\" class=\"antig-content_2 antig-entity-placement\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.courts.com\/antigua\/\" aria-label=\"500X500 (1)\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:500\/h:500\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/500X500-1.jpg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:500\/h:500\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/500X500-1.jpg 500w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:300\/h:300\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/500X500-1.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:150\/h:150\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/500X500-1.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-paragraph-2Bgue ArticleBody-para-TD_9x\">If COVID-19 results in an economic \u201clost decade\u201d, on top of other pressures on island nations, pushing back deadlines to achieve carbon neutrality may be prudent, he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-paragraph-2Bgue ArticleBody-para-TD_9x\">Antigua and Barbuda has an official target to cut its planet-heating emissions to net zero by 2050, but Browne said he was aiming for his country to become carbon-neutral by 2040.<\/p><div id=\"antig-3455899158\" class=\"antig-content_3 antig-entity-placement\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.antiguabarbudaculinarymonth.com\/\" aria-label=\"CM key_WEB 1300x300_1\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1301\/h:301\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/CM-key_WEB-1300x300_1.jpg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1301\/h:301\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/CM-key_WEB-1300x300_1.jpg 1301w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:300\/h:69\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/CM-key_WEB-1300x300_1.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1024\/h:237\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/CM-key_WEB-1300x300_1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:768\/h:178\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/CM-key_WEB-1300x300_1.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" width=\"1301\" height=\"301\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"AdSlot__container___2BqUD ArticleBody-ad-slot-83sCj\" data-creative-type=\"fluid\">\n<p class=\"TextLabel__text-label___3oCVw TextLabel__gray___1V4fk TextLabel__small-all-caps-spaced-out___3O9H4 AdSlot__label___15AMV\">\n<div id=\"inline_canvas\" class=\"AdSlot__creative___aEugP\" data-google-query-id=\"CKT0zfHhtO8CFUPqswodTCcFhQ\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/4735792\/reuters.com\/world\/americas\/article_4__container__\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-paragraph-2Bgue ArticleBody-para-TD_9x\">He said the shift could happen even earlier &#8211; but only with sufficient help.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-paragraph-2Bgue ArticleBody-para-TD_9x\">\u201cIf&#8230; we are able to get developed countries to provide more funding for transition into green energy, then we can say confidently that we will achieve a carbon-neutral position long before 2040,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-paragraph-2Bgue ArticleBody-para-TD_9x\">The country\u2019s smaller island of Barbuda &#8211; which was devastated in 2017 by Hurricane Irma, forcing the temporary evacuation of all its nearly 2,000 people &#8211; could hit that target within two years by installing solar power, he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-paragraph-2Bgue ArticleBody-para-TD_9x\">In Antigua and Barbuda, fossil fuels still provide more than 90% of energy, despite early investment in solar generation with battery storage &#8211; something Browne said had not proved good value for money as the cost of solar technology has since plunged.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-paragraph-2Bgue ArticleBody-para-TD_9x\">The island nation has poured at least $60 million into clean energy using borrowed funds, about half from the United Arab Emirates, but now wants to wait for cheaper prices and more efficient green technologies, including hydrogen, he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-paragraph-2Bgue ArticleBody-para-TD_9x\">It is also lobbying donors for access to grants and longer-term funding at low interest rates for its energy transition.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-paragraph-2Bgue ArticleBody-para-TD_9x\">The barrier it faces is that, alongside some other Caribbean island nations, it has been classed as a high-income country and thus is not eligible for grants or cheap credit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-paragraph-2Bgue ArticleBody-para-TD_9x\">Browne said that situation was \u201cunconscionable\u201d and urged financing decisions be made instead on the basis of a broader view of vulnerability that takes into account climate threats, including rising seas and more extreme weather.<\/p>\n<div class=\"AdSlot__container___2BqUD ArticleBody-ad-slot-83sCj\" data-creative-type=\"fluid\">\n<p class=\"TextLabel__text-label___3oCVw TextLabel__gray___1V4fk TextLabel__small-all-caps-spaced-out___3O9H4 AdSlot__label___15AMV\">\n<div id=\"mpu_native\" class=\"AdSlot__creative___aEugP\" data-google-query-id=\"CJ-W9vPhtO8CFTaVswodNlIH2A\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/4735792\/reuters.com\/world\/americas\/article_5__container__\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"Headline-headline-2FXIq Headline-black-OogpV ArticleBody-heading-3h695\">CLIMATE TALKS<\/h2>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-paragraph-2Bgue ArticleBody-para-TD_9x\">Besides fiercer storms, his country is grappling with beach erosion and drought, but is trying to boost its resilience with tighter building codes, desalination plants and planting 100,000 trees a year, which also store carbon, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-paragraph-2Bgue ArticleBody-para-TD_9x\">Antigua and Barbuda and other countries in the Alliance of Small Island States, which it now chairs, want the COP26 U.N. climate talks in November to drum up more funding to help them meet targets to adopt green energy and adapt to global warming.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-paragraph-2Bgue ArticleBody-para-TD_9x\">Browne said they would also push for progress on a long-delayed means of compensating countries that sustain \u201closs and damage\u201d from unavoidable impacts of climate change.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-paragraph-2Bgue ArticleBody-para-TD_9x\">That is not something affecting only poorer countries or island states, he noted, with U.S. coastal cities like Miami and New York also feeling the pain of flooding and hurricanes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-paragraph-2Bgue ArticleBody-para-TD_9x\">If greater efforts are not made by wealthy emitting countries to curb climate heating and protect at-risk communities with more finance, the flow of \u201cclimate refugees\u201d seeking shelter in rich nations would likely increase, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-paragraph-2Bgue ArticleBody-para-TD_9x\">\u201cIf there is no climate stability, there cannot be peace and security in the world,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"Attribution-attribution-Y5JpY\">\n<p>Reporting by Megan Rowling @meganrowling; editing by Laurie Goering. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers the lives of people around the world who struggle to live freely or fairly. Visit\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/news.trust.org\/climate\">news.trust.org\/climate<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"TrustBadge-trust-badge-20GM8\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"antig-2669637468\" class=\"antig-in-comments_2 antig-entity-placement\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/@hadeedmotorsltd\" aria-label=\"Hadeed_WEB_Banner_MG-2\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1000\/h:250\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Hadeed_WEB_Banner_MG-2.png\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1000\/h:250\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Hadeed_WEB_Banner_MG-2.png 1000w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:300\/h:75\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Hadeed_WEB_Banner_MG-2.png 300w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:768\/h:192\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Hadeed_WEB_Banner_MG-2.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" width=\"1000\" height=\"250\"   \/><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BARCELONA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) &#8211; With its tourism-reliant economy bowed by debt, and facing climate shocks and now the COVID-19 crisis, the tiny Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda will require more international funding to transition to green energy, its prime minister said. Gaston Browne, a former banker and businessman who came to power in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":120976,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.1 (Yoast SEO v24.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Green transition in islands hamstrung by debt, says Antigua &amp; Barbuda PM - Antigua News Room<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/green-transition-in-islands-hamstrung-by-debt-says-antigua-barbuda-pm\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Green transition in islands hamstrung by debt, says Antigua &amp; Barbuda PM\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BARCELONA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) &#8211; With its tourism-reliant economy bowed by debt, and facing climate shocks and now the COVID-19 crisis, the tiny Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda will require more international funding to transition to green energy, its prime minister said. 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