- goals have been insensitive to developing countries - Jagdeo
Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo says Guyana will not align itself with international prescriptive goals for sustainability, as he noted that they are often made without the developing world at the table.
He made mention of the Kyoto Protocol, the treaty which operationalises the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to make this point.
According to Jagdeo, this protocol was based on the capacity of countries to play their part in reducing emissions; however, developing countries are feeling the same burden as developed countries even though their contributions to the climate crisis are uneven.
“The policies and the financial support to achieve those goals are often lacking, in fact, global policies lead to us not achieving some of the goals,”
he said.
The Vice President was at the time discussing what Guyana’s approach would be for a sustainable future at the International Energy Conference and Expo 2022.
Vice President Jagdeo said Guyana will chart its own course towards sustainability with the guidance of the updated Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), revenues from the oil and gas sector and also the strengthening of its democratic institutions.
He said the LCDS will focus mainly on the management of Guyana’s biodiversity, flood mitigation, Guyana’s transition towards an energy mix and how mining and logging can be done in a sustainable manner among others.
According to the Vice President, revenues from the oil and gas industry will be spent on the welfare of Guyanese, creating world-class education, improving access and quality health care for all Guyanese and ensuring growth in the indigenous sectors.
“The focus has to be on infrastructure and incentives to stimulate growth in the non-oil economy, we are committed to ensuring that the dutch disease does not destroy the other sectors of our economy that we don’t spend in that manner.”
Jagdeo noted,
“The ultimate test for sustainability is how we ensure that all our citizens benefit, regardless of their geography, their race, their religion, all of our people share the benefit of the oil and gas and the changes taking place in Guyana.”
He also reminded of the government’s commitment to tackling climate change,
“We believe we have an obligation too, we’ll play our part in climate change, play our part in moving the world forward but in a very practical, simple way, we want a future for our people.”
