Energy in Belize is based on four main sources: imported fossil fuel

Fossil fuel

Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years...

s, biomass

Biomass

Biomass, as a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or converted into other energy products such as biofuel....

, hydro, and imported electricity

Electricity

Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...

. Belize

Belize

Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...

 currently imports 100% of its fossil fuel use (Launchpad Consulting, 2003). Under the San Jose Pact, which Belize signed onto in 1988, Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 and Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

 signed a treaty obligating them to offer a concessionary credit from 20-25% of the purchase price of their oil

Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...

 exports. In 1991, both countries increased the oil supply offered under this agreement (Belize – Mining and Energy Industry, 1992). However, fuel prices had jumped to a record high in 2008, over $10 per gallon (Armageddon, 2008). Since 1981, extensive drilling as occurred throughout Belize to find oil deposits. Near Spanish Lookout

Spanish Lookout

Spanish Lookout is a town in the Cayo District of Belize, Central America. In 2000, Spanish Lookout had a population of 1,786 people. Spanish Lookout is a community of Mennonites in Belize....

 and northwest of Belmopan

Belmopan

Belmopan , estimated population 20,000 is the capital city of Belize.Belmopan is located at , at an altitude of 76 metres above sea level. Belmopan was constructed just to the east of Belize River, inland from the former capital, the port of Belize City, after that city's near destruction by...

, two oil fields were located. Drilling in these two fields began in 2005 and was predicted to reach a peak by 2010 (Belize, 2010). Sustainable energy is the main goal for Belize. In 2003, the Public Utilities Commission implemented a one year project entitled Formulation for a National Energy Plan for Belize. The project, funded by the United National Development Fund, developed a comprehensive National Energy Policy to promote environmentally sound, safe, reliable, affordable energy (National Energy Plan, 2001).

Belize has also taken a role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Belize and Nicaragua

Nicaragua

Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...

 Logs Recovery project aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent deforestation by salvaging mahogany

Mahogany

The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored hardwood. It is a native American word originally used for the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban mahogany....

 and other logs in the Belize and Nicaragua Rivers (Legace and Legault International Inc., 2007). Also, in compliance with the United Nations’ program REDD, Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation, a national workshop performing with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Forest Department of Belize are coordinating efforts to forest management and reduction of deforestation (Protecting Belize and other Central American Countries – Reducing Emissions: REDD, 2010). Along with signing the San Jose Pact, Belize has also been a participant to the Kyoto Protocol

Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , aimed at fighting global warming...

.