Time for Africa, CARICOM, Latin America to speak with one voice on oil and gas issues

Time for Africa, CARICOM, Latin America to speak with one voice on oil and gas issues – T&T Energy Minister

Feb 22, 2024 ExxonMobil, News, Oil & Gas

T&T Energy Minister, Stuart Young

By Kiana Wilburg

Kaieteur News – If nations within CARICOM, Latin America and Africa were to speak with a united voice on issues pertaining to the oil sector it would be hard for their positions to be ignored by the Global North.

The power of such a collaborative force was recently highlighted at the Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo which was held at the Marriott Hotel from February 19 to 22.

During his participation on the second day of the conference, Minister Young said the geopolitical consequences and market disruptions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, brought into sharper focus the need for countries to achieve energy security. Minister Young said it also amplified how the Global North expects countries that are part of CARIOM, Latin America and Africa to respond to climate change. He said there is pressure from the Global North for certain nations to temper their development of their natural resources, lest it worsens global warming and the natural disasters that would follow. However, Young found this expectation of nations within CARICOM, Latin America and Africa to be unfair since those “wealthy and developed nations” of the Global North enjoyed unbridled latitude to use their resources as well as those in other parts of the world for their economic advancement.

Another key observation Young highlighted from the Russia-Ukraine war was the fact that countries across Europe fired up coal plants for power as their gas supply from Russia was cut off. The Energy Minister said coal constitutes one of the worst forms of carbon which contributes to the climate change dilemma. “But what it shows is that once there is a crisis, this will once again be the reaction of certain wealthy, developed countries in the world,” said the minister.

To ensure that these nations are not only held to account but also made to do what is in the best interest of the world, Young said CARICOM, Latin America and Africa must join forces so that they can “be a voice that cannot be ignored.”

“I want to utilise the opportunity here this morning where we are just days away from the CARICOM meeting on Monday (February 26, 2024) to bring this sense of responsibility to us and for us to start working more collaboratively, working as one loud voice because if we do so, we can, and I am convinced, contribute to the decisions that are being made around the world that directly affect us,” said Minister Young.

He added, “What we need is an equal voice and an equal seat at those tables of decision making.” Given Guyana’s growing hydrocarbon resource pool, the considerable barrels unlocked in Suriname as well as Trinidad and Tobago’s century-old experience in the industry, Young said this trilateral group holds the power to lead the charge on energy security.

“We hold the opportunity right here in our hands to influence this energy security conversation taking place across the world,” said Young. The T&T politician said it is critical that this group steps up to the proverbial plate to push the conversation on the power of collaboration as he highlighted that CARICOM, Africa and the whole of Latin America only account for less than three percent of global emissions but still face the brunt of the consequences. Minister Young alluded that there is something radically wrong with this equation as he reiterated his call for a united front.

Africa, CARICOM, energy, Guyana, Security, Trinidad

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