Dear Editor,
Today 14th June 2024 marks 25 years since President Janet Jagan signed an over-generous Petroleum Agreement with Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Ltd. To avoid upsetting anyone, let me confess up front that the last page says notices for Esso should be served at Esso’s registered office at 80 Cowan St. marked for my attention.
In these 25 years, the world has undergone significant and irreversible change. The fossil fuel industry (FFI) is in decline and is no longer viable. The IMF reports that in 2023 the fossil fuel industry received the equivalent of US$7.1 trillion in subsidies. The FFI simply cannot compete with renewable energy (RE) and would collapse without subsidies.
In the meantime, the FFI problem is being quietly shifted to the Global South. A report from Manchester University (Calverley and Anderson) argues that rich countries should replace their fossil fuels with RE by 2034 while the poorest countries should carry on using oil, coal and gas until 2050. As we all know, RE is clean, cheap and safe while fossil fuels are dirty, dangerous and expensive. Why is the Global South once again being forced to take the Global North’s trash?
A few examples will show the shift is already happening. Norway uses 98% RE while selling dirty oil overseas. Germany is on track for 100% RE by 2028 and is already at 60% RE. Portugal uses 91% RE and has the lowest power prices in Europe. Even oil state Texas already gets about a third of its energy from RE. The FFI increasingly depends for its survival on neo-colonial governments who put FFI interests above the nation and national economy. It is happening across Africa, Asia and South America, including Guyana.
It is very hard to give up the dream of oil wealth for Guyana but surely the time has come to face reality. The International Energy Agency predicts that overproduction will result in 8 billion barrels of oil a day that nobody wants. Guyana could be left with stranded assets including oil wells that will cost US$ billions to shut down safely. So where is the Government’s business plan which demonstrates that Guyana’s oil industry is good for Guyana’s economy or even financially viable? The proposed gas project has no financial justification and it will make Guyana dependent on ExxonMobil for electricity. Is that really the energy security that people want?
Sincerely,
Melinda Janki
