The choices are not many while living in an era when climate change is taking effect. It is either we adapt and fight or, perish as a people. This is the message Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall delivered to Region One residents who gathered yesterday at Mabaruma and Port Kaituma.
Loggers, farmers, representatives of the indigenous communities; as well as representatives of the health, education and transport sectors listened with rapt attention as Nandlall spoke about the government’s plan for the way forward in the face of climate change.
Nandlall said that the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic government has chosen to fight to secure the best chance of survival for its people. He said that not only does the government want to preserve life, but it also wants to secure sustainable development for this generation and the next.
The Attorney General said that such ambitions necessitated a solid plan hence the formulation of the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).
Nandlall explained that the LCDS existed since 2009 but has been adjusted to include the government’s vision to 2030. The updated document is called LCDS 2030.
Nandlall said that climate change is no longer a concept that anyone can doubt.
“There was a time when people, powerful people, made public statements that would tend to suggest that climate change is not real.” He said that now, the doubts and the ambiguities are a thing of the past. He said that it is now clear to all that the world has a choice, “Either we adapt and take the steps to guard against climate change or we perish as a people.”
Nandlall said that the PPP/C government has fully accepted that reality and as a result is working every day to “come up with the best possible arrangements to keep you and the country safe. We are fashioning our developmental policies and platforms to ensure that future generations are secure.”
Nandlall indicated that the government’s strategy has four main pillars. He said that protecting against climate change and biodiversity loss is one of these pillars. Therefore, the government is prioritizing the creation of a climate-resilient agriculture sector and coastal infrastructure.
Nandlall said that one of the fundamental pillars of the LCDS is the creation of incentives for a low carbon economy. He said that Guyana intends to keep its deforestation rate low in order to be able to market its forest as a global asset. He said that Guyana will sell its carbon credits in order to be able to earn from its asset. “We are saying, ‘hey, you want us to maintain our forest for the world to benefit well then you have to pay us for it.”
Another pillar of the strategy, Nandlall said, is to align with global climate and biodiversity goals. “We cannot do preparatory work here in Guyana in relation to Climate Change that is not in sync with the world. Our policies have to connect and fuse with those of the world. We have one common objective and that is preserving life and the world in which we live.”
The final pillar Nandlall highlighted was that which speaks to Guyana’s desire to cling to clean energy in order to even further reduce emissions.
Nandlall said, “One of the main reasons for the destruction of the environment is the use of fossil fuels. Part of the strategy is aimed at moving away from our reliance on fossil fuels. We are going to diversify our energy grid to cleaner and renewable energy.”
Against this backdrop, Nandlall gave some insight into the government’s energy mix which will utilize solar, water and wind power as renewable energy and gas as a much cleaner alternative to the heavy fuel oil that is currently being used by the Guyana Power and Light to generate energy.
Further on the matter of keeping emissions at a low, Nandlall said, “We are committed to the implementation of a framework for the oil and gas sector to operate in the most sustainable and environmentally safe manner possible.”
He added, “the persons accusing us of environmental wrongs and degradations are misconceived. We have one of the best environmental credentials on earth.”
The Attorney General pledged that the government will continue drafting policies that are of a sustainable nature as he stressed that “our fight against climate change is one with a human face.”
