But ‘tis a common proof,
That lowliness is young ambition’s ladder,
Whereto the climber-upward turns his face;
But when he once attains the utmost round,
He then unto the ladder turns his back,
Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees
By which he did ascend.
William Shakespeare in ‘Julius Caesar’
Last week, we examined the presentations of the speakers at the recent launch of the A New and United Guyana (ANUG) party. We were unable to consider two items because of space constraints. These are: ensuring that Guyana’s energy needs are met from renewable sources of energy by 2025; and the elimination of the dependence on fossil fuels. While we support all efforts aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change, we have to be realistic about the timelines we set for doing so.
At the signing of the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change, President Granger reaffirmed Guyana’s commitment to: (i) implement initiatives in the forest and renewable-energy sectors; (ii) move closer towards a 100 percentage renewable power supply by 2025; (iii) contribute to reducing annually the carbon emissions of up to 48.7 million tonnes; and (iv) place under conservation two million hectares of Guyana’s forests.
There is, however, no publicly available information as to how well we are performing in relation to these commitments. Our targets also appear very unrealistic, considering that other countries that are better placed to honour their commitments, have less ambitious targets in terms of switching from the use of fossil fuels to renewable sources, as shown below: