UN calls for just, equitable transition to renewable energy

Jul 04, 2023 ExxonMobil, News, Oil & Gas

– says not all countries need to be treated in the same way

Kaieteur News – Amid calls for a transition from fossil fuel to renewable energy, Secretary General of the United Nations, António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres said such a transition must be just and equitable.

Speaking during a news conference in Trinidad and Tobago, Guterres was asked: “Sir, Trinidad and Tobago, as a small island state, also is a producer of oil and natural gas. In the context of the energy transition and the UN’s push for climate change, you also have nations like Trinidad and Tobago saying that they have these resources that they also need [inaudible]. What is the UN’s position on that particular issue?”

Secretary General of the United Nations, António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres

In his response, the Secretary-General said: “Well, we have a general position in relation to fossil fuels. We are, as you know, clearly in a position to say that we need to progressively phase out fossil fuels and progressively have renewable energy as the way to sustain economic development in the world. But if you have listened to my recent position on this, I have advocated for what I call a just and equitable transition, which means not all countries need to be treated in the same way. And the rhythm and the logic of the phase out is different according to the different conditions that different countries might have.”

Gutterres’ comments seem to align with Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo and others here that Guyana must be allowed to develop its oil and gas resources to benefit its people.  Back in February at the  International Energy Conference,  Jagdeo had said that countries like Guyana and Suriname have a right to develop their oil and gas resources. “…because they have used up so little of the global carbon budget,” the Jagdeo had said.  Back in April Jagdeo again said that the PPP/C Government plans to embark on a number of measures that will keep the oil industry on the fast track for a minimum of 15 years. He said then that such an approach would include the timely award of production licences as well as encouraging investment in the sector. Given the pace at which discoveries are being made in the Stabroek Block, and the overall speed of development activities, Jagdeo said it is critical that the government adopts a complementary approach to ensure local and foreign businesses are not left with stranded investments. He provided this policy position during the country’s first Local Content Summit held at Pegasus Corporate Suites and Convention Centre under the theme, “Sustaining Supplier Development through Local Content Partnerships.”

Financing for climate change

Meanwhile, addressing the issue of financing to fight climate change, the UN Secretary-General said: “It is vital. We have been strongly advocating for the reform of the international financial architecture. The international financial system that we have was created after the second world war, when Trinidad and Tobago was not yet a member. The majority of today’s countries were not yet members. We need to adapt the international financial system to the realities of today’s economy. And to make it more fair and more effective.”

According to Guterres at the same time, “we see the need to increase substantially the amounts of funding for adaptation. Mitigation is essential. We must reduce emissions, but we should not forget that many countries are already suffering the dramatic impacts of climate change and those that suffer most are not those that contribute more to the problem. So, we need to increase substantially the financing to adaptation. There was a decision in the last COP to put the loss and damage fund in place, but we need to operationalise it, and this is vital this year. And at the same time, we need to make sure that namely small island [developing] states – that are middle income countries and in some even high-income countries, but most of them middle income countries – small island developing states need support in debt relief and need support in concessional funding and because they are middle income countries, they are excluded from that. That needs to change.”

He said too there must be a much stronger action of multilateral development banks.  “They need to be more capitalized and they need to change their business model in order to be able to leverage much more, the private finance that is necessary to make sure that we are able to respond namely in the developing world to the very dramatic impacts of climate change.  But this is true for climate, but it’s also true for development in general.”

• Bharrat Jagdeo, International Energy Conference, Stabroek Block, Summit, Vice President