Guyana’s President, Ifraan Ali, took Stephen Sacker, host of BBC’s Hardtalk, to task on the issue of carbon emissions and Guyana’s oil and gas exploration.

Guyana is expected to become an even bigger oil and gas province thus making it the world’s fastest growing economy.

With a population of 800,000 the IMF says its earnings grew by 38 per cent last year with BMI,a  Fitch Solutions unit, predicting that the economy of Guyana will grow by 115 per cent in the next five years.

Real GDP per capita increased from US$4,265 in 2018 to US$12,207 in 2022. It is expected to reach US$38,000 by 2028.

Guyana has high expectations of its oil and gas industry and it will be the driver of the country’s growth giving its people a better quality of life.

According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, last year the Guyanese Government earned US$1.4 Billion in profit from oil reserves and US$225.2 million from royalties.

Guyana is expected to produce 1.2 million barrels of oil per day from the Starbroek Block by 2027. The Caribbean country can grow its economy fivefold over the next twenty years.

The Government wants to take its future into its own hands but faces backlash from climate change advocates who say it will become a big emitter of carbon emissions due to its flourishing energy sector at a time when the Paris Agreement has given assurances to keep global temperatures below 1.5 degrees.

While concerns are expressed around greenhouse gasses from the oil operations, Guyana says it must take opportunities to grow its economy and better the welfare of its people while keeping a close eye on climate change.

It is not for other countries, particularly industrialised ones to lecture Guyana on its handling of carbon emissions when they themselves have been errant. Many say Guyana far from providing a carbon sink will become one of the world’s biggest carbon emitters

To see the full interview, see this link