Page 25 - LatAmOil Annual Review 2021

LatAmOil NOVEMBER LatAmOil

Keith Rowley, the prime minister of Trinidad transition, especially since their own contribu-
and Tobago, said on November 6 following his tions to global GHG emissions were very mod-
return from the COP26 summit that he did not est. “The world’s foremost polluters have a duty
believe Port of Spain should comply with calls to to institute steeper emissions cuts,” he asserted.
rein in hydrocarbon exploration. Presidents Ali and Santokhi drew attention
Doing so would wreak havoc on the coun- to their countries’ extensive forests, pointing out
try’s economy, which depends heavily on gas that Guyana and Suriname were in a position
production, gas processing, gas-derived petro- to support emissions reduction campaigns by
chemical manufacturing and related activities, using their trees as a massive carbon sink. They
he noted. “For Trinidad and Tobago, that is a both urged the developed world to back pro-
dagger aimed at our heart,” he was quoted as posals for paying poorer countries to maintain
saying by Argus Media. such carbon sinks, with Santokhi adding that
He also indicated that the country intended Suriname and other heavily forested countries
to keep looking for oil and gas and extracting ought to be offered “appropriate compensation
commercially viable reserves. “We are in the means and mechanisms” to help them cover the
business of hydrocarbons and will remain there steep costs of the energy transition.
as long as there is a market in the world,” he Both leaders also made a point of saying that
remarked. they were committed to cutting GHG emissions
Rowley also took exception to the argument and expanding the use of renewable energy. But
that only renewable energy projects deserved neither seemed keen on the idea of giving up on
political and financial support, pointing out that fossil fuel production.
gas had a smaller carbon footprint than other Indeed, Ali’s second-in-command said on
fossil fuels, such as coal or petroleum products. November 2 that Guyana should not be denied
Trinidad’s best bet is “to join other countries the opportunity to exploit its own resources
and carry the conversation that gas is in fact the – especially since the International Energy
cleaner among the fuels available at this time,” he Agency (IEA), which has called for cutting off
said, according to Argus Media. all financing for fossil fuel projects, expects that
The prime minister stressed that Port of the world will still need 24mn barrels per day
Spain was not insensible to climate consider- (bpd) of oil at minimum in 2050.
ations. He acknowledged that Trinidad and “So who is going to supply this?” Vice Presi- There is still room
Tobago had become one of the world’s biggest dent Bharrat Jagdeo asked. “Why should we not
polluters specifically because of its dependence be the ones supplying it?” for debate about
on the production of gas-derived petrochemi- Jagdeo also stressed the idea of a fair energy
cals and fertilisers. “We have our work cut out transition, saying: “If we don’t develop our how exactly the
for us,” he said. resources, like some of our people [are] saying, global community
Additionally, he said he had taken pains to then you [are] giving a monopoly only to the
inform other attendees of COP26 that the gov- existing producers. How do you want a fair deal is supposed
ernment of Trinidad and Tobago was committed for Guyana when you want us to park our oil and
to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. gas sector?” to implement
Even so, he argued, replacing fossil fuels will He also argued that his country would be in
take “quite some time.” Port of Spain intends to a better position to bear the financial burden of decarbonisation
keep backing oil and gas projects in the interim the switch to renewable energy if it first earned
and stands ready to sign new agreements with as much as possible from oil development. “Our
international oil companies (IOCs) such as BP objective has to be to try to get as much out as
(UK) and Royal Dutch Shell (UK/Netherlands), possible from the sector, as quickly as possible,
he said. and then invest in the low-carbon sector of the
“We have had very good responses from Shell future,” he declared.
and BP, and significant investments are commit-
ted to keeping Trinidad and Tobago on the pro- Room for debate
duction side of things,” he stated. All these statements are significant because they
demonstrate that there is still room for some
Guyana and Suriname push back debate about how exactly the global commu-
Meanwhile, two South American states have nity is supposed to implement decarbonisation
pushed back against the idea of making any policies.
commitments to halt oil and gas exploration. They show that not all countries are
One of these was Suriname, whose President convinced of the wisdom of giving up on fossil
Chandrikapersad Santokhi said on November fuels – even in the face of strong evidence that
2 that developed countries’ efforts to convince climate change is both real and harmful. Addi-
poorer states to give up on fossil fuels were hyp- tionally, they indicate that poorer countries with
ocritical. He expressed reservations about the oil and gas reserves have real questions about the
fairness of denying less developed and ener- wisdom of emissions cuts that are likely to con-
gy-poor countries the chance to reap the bene- strain their income by forcing oil and gas to stay
fits of fossil fuel development, saying that richer underground.
states were applying “double standards.” In other words, it’s too early to declare vic-
Santokhi’s Guyanese counterpart Irfaan Ali tory for BOGA. Costa Rica may be ready to give
spoke similarly, saying that impoverished coun- up on hydrocarbons, but other countries in the
tries should not bear the burden of the energy region are not. ™

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