NASSAU, BAHAMAS- At the Global Renewables Summit, Prime Minister Philip Davis challenged the business community to rethink its climate approach: stop framing energy reform as a cost, and start recognizing it as a platform for growth, resilience, and investment stability.
Addressing a room of global leaders, investors, and innovators in New York, Davis made the case that clean energy abundance is both achievable and essential—but only if the narrative shifts away from sacrifice and toward possibility.
“We will never unlock the full potential of clean energy abundance if the stories we tell focus on scarcity and sacrifice,” Davis said. “We need to be the most passionate and effective evangelists for the proposition that energy reforms will expand our possibilities, not limit them.”
He pointed to The Bahamas as a real-world example of what determined energy reform can look like, even in the face of compounding climate and financial pressures. Over the past several years, his government has undertaken the country’s first nationwide energy overhaul.
“We needed to modernize our country’s energy laws and regulations, we needed to take into account the diverse energy needs of a population scattered across an archipelago, we needed to upgrade our grid so that it can transmit solar energy – and we needed to confront the reality of energy generation itself, shifting away from near-total dependence on imported fossil fuels.”
These changes are already drawing international validation. The International Monetary Fund has described the reforms as “ambitious and positive,” noting their potential to “strengthen resilience and competitiveness while addressing long-standing vulnerabilities.”
Still, Prime Minister Davis made it clear that small island nations like The Bahamas face disproportionate financial barriers. The country has suffered four Category 4 and 5 hurricanes in under a decade, costing billions in damage while increasing the cost of borrowing and insurance.
“We are carrying the burden of storms already endured while also paying for those yet to come,” he said. “The toll is not only measured in billions of dollars in damages, but also in the higher interest rates and insurance premiums that reflect the risk we live with every day.”
That economic burden, Prime Minister Davis warned, will slow global progress unless climate finance and investment mechanisms evolve accordingly.
He also argued that messaging and public understanding are now as critical to the energy transition as infrastructure itself.
“If we invest in stories and get the message out just a fraction of what we invest in solar panels and turbines and batteries, we can bend the arc of history towards a time of renewable energy abundance.”
According to Prime Minister Davis, the key to unlocking trillions in public and private capital lies in showing citizens—across all economies—that clean energy can directly improve their lives.
“We can build a future with cleaner air and water, lower energy bills, health improvements, reduced climate migration, reduced dependence on imported fuels, food and water security.”
He concluded by emphasizing progress over perfection, urging business leaders to think long-term and act collectively.
“The point is not perfection. The point is progress — and the belief that by working together, each step we take strengthens the chances of success for us all.”
