Justin is responsible for strategic oversight and leadership for the Islands Energy Program, which guides island governments and utilities to define and achieve their energy visions. The program aims to accelerate the transition of island economies from a heavy dependence on fossil fuels to a diverse platform of renewables and energy efficiency while establishing a blueprint for other isolated economies.
Justin previously held the position of disaster risk management specialist at the World Bank where he managed one of the largest per capita investment portfolios in World Bank history. He was instrumental in accessing climate financing for Eastern Caribbean countries where he led national planning processes designed to develop and deploy tailored, broad-based national adaptation and mitigation strategies for achieving cross sectoral climate resilience.
Previous to his tenure at the World Bank, Justin worked for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in the Pacific Region—holding the role of development specialist at the UNDP Regional Pacific Center based in Fiji which provides technical assistance to over 14 Pacific island countries and served as community/recovery program manager for the UNDP multi-country office in Samoa where he designed and implemented the UNDP’s regional flagship program in the Polynesian sub-region.
Justin has several publications on topics ranging from climate-induced migration to economy-wide energy transition roadmap planning. From 2002 to 2004, he was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Republic of Kiribati.
MPA, Public Administration in International Management, Monterey Institute of International Studies
BA, University of California, Davis
Washington, D.C.
@JustinLocke79
This blog post was adapted from a keynote presentation given at the Pacific Power Association Annual Conference and was originally posted on Virgin.com. I was in Rarotonga, the capital of the Cook Islands in the South Pacific, in 2010, after the island of Aitutaki—just a few kilometers south of…
Last week, Hurricane Irma ripped through the Caribbean with devastating fury. Its 185-mph winds smashed buildings, downed trees and power lines, overturned trucks, and tossed boats ashore like toys. Its storm surges turned streets into raging rivers and flooded whole communities. Irma, the strongest Category 5 hurricane on record in…
When most people think about Caribbean islands, they envision white sand beaches and coral reefs. But for people like us who work on combatting climate change, what first comes to mind are rising sea levels, extreme storms, eroding coastlines, and other consequences that these islands face. They are on the…
Energy systems that incorporate renewables can lead to a lower cost system.
This guide was developed to provide healthcare administrators in the Caribbean islands the resources necessary to find energy savings for their facilities, finance those savings, and follow through with the activities necessary to realize those savings. The guide has an accompanying website (www.hospitalretrofits.org) that serves as an easy-to-use tool to…