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Consultant; former Minister of Government in the Ministry of Public Service, Sustainable Development, Energy, Science and Technology (St. Lucia)
Dr. James Fletcher is a former Minister for Public Service, Sustainable Development, Energy, Science and Technology in Saint Lucia. He served in that position from December 2011 to June 2016. During his tenure, he led Saint Lucia on an aggressive path toward the modernization of the energy sector, with an emphasis on legislative reform and the use of renewable sources of energy. He oversaw efforts to improve the water sector, and played a pivotal role in the thrust toward making information technology widely available across the island. As minister with responsibility for the public service, he introduced an employee assistance programme, and established a Government 311 call centre.
However, Dr. James Fletcher is perhaps best known for his work in international climate change negotiations. He led the Caribbean’s delegation to the negotiations on the Paris Agreement in 2015 and was an integral part of the region’s ‘1.5 to stay alive’ climate change civil society advocacy campaign. He was a member of a small, select group of ministers who were charged with the responsibility for achieving consensus among the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change on the elements of the Paris Agreement.
Prior to his stint as a Cabinet Minister, James Fletcher served as the Director of Social and Sustainable Development at the Secretariat of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, the Cabinet Secretary in the Government of Saint Lucia, and the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
Currently, James Fletcher manages his own consulting company, SOLORICON, which provides services in the areas of sustainable energy, climate change, water policy, information and communications technology, agriculture, and public policy development. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from the University of Ottawa, Canada and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Crop Physiology from the University of Cambridge, England.
He is the author of the book Governing in a Small Caribbean Island State.