Energy security eclipsing climate as region’s big concern – NCB Capital
Published:Friday | January 23, 2026 | 12:10 AM
The growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrency mining has led the United States to increase its hunger for energy worldwide — a shift that creates opportunities for the region, reasoned Angus Young, CEO of NCB Capital, in an address at the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) Capital Markets Conference.
“If we are to retain capital and attract foreign direct investment, we must pay close attention to the global political agenda unfolding before us in our own backyard,” stated Young earlier this week, speaking to an audience of peers and politicians, including Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness. “Those of us in this room have a responsibility to identify opportunities, while actively mitigating risk for our investors, our businesses, and the region as a whole.”
Young no longer thinks climate change is necessarily the biggest concern in the region.
He noted that the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this month by the Donald Trump administration in the US marked the culmination of the largest American military presence in the region for decades. He added that the factors leading to regime change in Venezuela were different from previous ideological interventions in Cuba, Grenada, Panama and Nicaragua.
“Today, while regime change may still form part of the political agenda, the dominant underlining driver appears to be energy security,” said Young, who added that attention has now shifted back to Cuba, but also Colombia and Greenland.
Most Anglophone nations in the Caribbean have no motherland to rely on and therefore need to “safeguard investability” to ensure the free flow of capital, talent, regulatory harmonisation and more. “There is no bailout — it is on us,” said Young, who manages a large investment bank and wealth management operation, part of the NCB Financial Group.
“The rapid growth of artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency mining has introduced an unprecedented level of new demand for the US power grid,” he said.
Reports indicate that large tech firms Amazon, OpenAI and Microsoft are each building, or have built, AI data centres individually larger than one gigawatt — equivalent to Jamaica’s entire energy grid. OpenAI plans to have a combined seven gigawatts in the medium term.