Guyana, Suriname discuss possibility of gas strategy

Aug 19, 2021 News

As effects of Climate Change intensify…

Kaieteur News – Even though the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the United Nations have urged world leaders to hasten steps towards renewable energy given the intensifying effects of climate change, two CARICOM countries are discussing the possibility of a gas strategy.
Yesterday, Guyana’s President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, and Suriname’s Head of State, Chandrikapersad Santokhi, continued bilateral discussions at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) with a high-level delegation from both nations present for the plenary session.

President, Dr. Irfaan Ali

Suriname’s President, Chandrikapersad Santokhi

Prior to that engagement, the two Presidents met with their respective Ministers of Foreign Affairs to advance discussions in several areas encompassing a number of sectors. It was during that discussion that talks of new areas of collaboration were discussed, including the environment, the oil and gas sector and the likelihood of establishing a common gas strategy for Guyana and Suriname.
“As you are aware, both parties here have similarities and have similar challenges and opportunities in relation to the environment. Both of us also have to manage an emerging oil and gas sector in the context of our credentials on the environment and climate changes so that is a new area that we have added,” President Ali explained.
The two Presidents also discussed local content and the legislation governing same, among other matters.
President Ali noted that the objective of the enhanced collaboration between the two nations is geared towards improving the lives of the countries’ citizens through social and economic benefits.
“We are not on a time-wasting exercise,” President Ali noted, adding “we are going to make decisions today for a better tomorrow, and we are going to advance at a very rapid pace from today in relation to all the commitments and decisions that we will take.”
Meanwhile, President Santokhi expressed his appreciation for the warm welcome extended to him and his delegation. He acknowledged that the engagement allows for the advancement of important discussions between the two countries.
The Surinamese delegation included Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation (BIBIS), Ambassador Albert R. Ramdin; Minister of Natural Resources, David Abiamofo; Minister of Agriculture, Animal and Husbandry and Fisheries, Parmanand Sewdien; Minister of Public Works, Raid Nurmohamed; Minister of Transport, Communication and Tourism, Albert E. Jubithana; Managing Director of the State Oil Company Suriname and Advisor to the Government of Suriname, Annand K.R. Jagesar.
Guyana’s delegation at the plenary session included Senior Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh; Minister of Health and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (Ag), Dr. Frank Anthony; Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn; Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha; Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill; Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond; Foreign Secretary, Robert Persaud; Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mrs. Elisabeth Harper; Guyana’s resident Ambassador to Suriname, Mr. Keith George, and representatives from the Office of the President.

GRAVE DANGER
It was only a week ago that Kaieteur News published an article noting a call by the United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, for there to be a swift shift to renewable energy. His call came on the heels of a damning report by the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which speaks to the devastating effects of human activity on the earth.
Guterres said his word of caution against further oil and gas development must be heeded since the internationally agreed threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius is “perilously close.” He had said, “We are at imminent risk of hitting 1.5 degrees in the near term. The only way to prevent exceeding this threshold is by urgently stepping up our efforts, and pursuing the most ambitious path…We are already at 1.2 degrees and rising.”

ABOUT IPCC & ITS REPORT
The IPCC was created in 1988 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to provide policymakers with regular scientific assessments on climate change, its implications and potential future risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and mitigation options.
Through its assessments, the IPCC determines the state of knowledge on climate change. It identifies where there is agreement in the scientific community on topics related to climate change, and where further research is needed. The reports are drafted and reviewed in several stages, thus guaranteeing objectivity and transparency.
The IPCC is now in its sixth assessment cycle. The first report from this process is called Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. It was released this week. The report addresses the most up-to-date physical understanding of the climate system and climate change, bringing together the latest advances in climate science, and combining multiple lines of evidence from paleoclimate, observations, process understanding, and global and regional climate simulations. A total of 234 scientists from 66 countries are behind the first chapter of the IPCC’s sixth assessment report. Also, over 14,000 scientific papers are referenced in the report.
Some of the key findings of the report are as follows:
• Keeping to 1.5 Degrees Celsius will require “immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions” in emissions while slower action leads to a temperature of 2 Degrees Celsius and more suffering for all life on Earth.
• Drought is increasing in more than 90 percent of regions across the world.
• The past five years have been the hottest on record since 1850.
• The recent rate of sea-level rise has nearly tripled compared with 1901-1971.
• Extreme sea-level events that occurred once a century are projected to occur at least annually.
• Under all the emissions scenarios considered, all targets for reductions will be broken this century unless huge cuts in carbon emissions take place.
• 2,400 billion tonnes of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) have been emitted by humanity since 1850. The world can afford to only leak another 400 billion tonnes to have a 66 percent chance of keeping to 1.5 Degrees Celsius.
• Many changes due to past and future greenhouse gas emissions are irreversible for centuries to millennia, especially changes in the ocean, ice sheets and global sea level.
• Under scenarios with increasing CO2 emissions, the ocean and land carbon sinks are projected to be less effective at slowing the accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere.