Latest update April 23rd, 2024 12:59 AM
Jun 07, 2022 News
Kaieteur News – Recognising the urgency for the transition to a green economy, with global temperatures expected to rise, Trinidad and Tobago will not be relying on international bodies to fund projects geared towards this development, but instead the twin-island republic through its central bank will be pursuing a low carbon economy.
This is according to the T&T Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Rowley. The Prime Minister during the opening of the country’s Energy Conference, hosted at the Hyatt Regency between May 31 and June 2, last made the disclosure. The Energy Conference this year was focused on the shift to a green economy themed ‘“Leveraging the industry’s strengths for the energy transition”.
To this end, Dr. Rowley made the point that the transition to a green economy is not “inexpensive” as he alluded to a Bloomberg report which determined that in 2021, global investment in the low-carbon energy transition totaled US$755 billion”. By its estimates, total energy transition expenditure will need to triple in the coming years to get on track for net zero by 2050. The Prime Minister explained that Trinidad and Tobago alone will need about US$2 billion to meet the nationally determined contribution. In this regard, he pointed out, “As is the case for many developing countries, Trinidad and Tobago cannot achieve carbon neutrality without significant international financial assistance.
The UN has acknowledged the fact that the achievement of targets by several developing countries is conditional on foreign financial assistance. The United Nations Environment Programme has projected that developing countries require US$300 billion a year by 2030, and US$500 billion by 2050 to adapt to the effects of climate change. However, finance for mitigation and adaptation has been a major issue. In 2009, developed nations agreed to provide US $100 billion per year to help developing countries mitigate and adapt to climate change. However, this target has not been met and to the extent that funds were made available, they did not find their way, in any volume, to small island developing states.”
In this regard, Dr. Rowley shared that the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, through its membership in the Network for Greening the Financial System and other international arrangements for collaboration, will play a key role in the financing of the country’s energy transition to a low carbon economy.
“As a Government, we have taken a pragmatic approach to energy transition. We have undertaken the dual responsibility to optimize our hydrocarbon resources for the benefit of our citizens as well as taking action to reduce our carbon footprint. In our estimation, there is no conflict between investing in renewables and in hydrocarbons as over time renewables can liberate oil and gas for export markets, and also create a diversified energy mix,” the Prime Minister urged.
While T&T has taken a decision to ensure renewable and safe energy is incorporated to meet the global requirements rather than depend on financing from developed countries to fuel the transition, quite the opposite can be said for Guyana.
In fact, only on Sunday, the President, Irfaan Ali spoke against the failure of the developed countries to keep their pledge to support states that desperately needed the finances to pursue the transition.
While speaking to the United Nations Resident Coordinator to Guyana, Yesim Oruc, who was present at the event, President Ali said, “don’t tell us that the developing world must move to investing in renewable. That is not fixing, that is passing the buck to the developing world again that you must find money to fix the problem once more. That is not fixing the solution; that is not fixing the problem. Tell us how to fix it. Tell us how we are going to raise the money. Tell us how you are going to put more money into grants and concessional loans to fix this…and those in our society who are blindsided or short sighted to these realities must wake up, must wake up to the reality! Nobody is going to come home to us here and find the resources to give you the best possible health care and the best possible education…the one world and one responsibility must not be divorced from the equality of treatment, the nondiscriminatory nature of the global system and the access to resources.”
Ali was at the time speaking at the National Park, where a walk was organised by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in observance of World Environment Day, culminated. This year, World Environment Day was hosted under the theme ‘Only One Earth’.
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