Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali knows we need to act fast. The country has to use its new oil riches before it’s too late.
In the last ten years, Guyana has found a lot of oil and gas under its oceans. Now, they have around 11 billion barrels stored. This makes them one of the top 20 countries in terms of potential, similar to Norway, Brazil, and Algeria. Guyana is a small country next to Venezuela, Brazil, and Suriname in the northeast of South America. Right now, it has the fastest-growing economy globally.
However, this discovery comes at a time when the world is trying to use less fossil fuels to fight climate change. In 2015, many countries, including Guyana, promised to greatly reduce the gases that cause climate change by 2050. This means using less oil.
President Ali spoke with the BBC from the capital city, Georgetown. He agrees that they need to move quickly with oil production, but he thinks saying they’re in a race against time is a bit exaggerated.
He mentioned that even if the world manages to reach the goal of using no more greenhouse gases than it removes from the atmosphere—something he wasn’t very confident about – we would still rely a lot on fossil fuels, even after 2050.
“As I’m talking to you, 53% of the world’s energy comes from oil and gas,” Mr. Ali stated. “Even if we manage to stick to the full promise, about 35% to 40% of the world’s energy will still come from oil and gas. So realistically, I don’t see a quick or even medium-term end to using oil and gas.”
He also brought up a question for the future. Suppose in 2070 or later, around 40% of our energy comes from oil and gas. Who decides who gets to produce that 40%? These are important questions because you can’t just say, ‘You’re in, and you’re out.’ That’s a kind of taking control in a different way.
The oil discovery has completely changed Guyana’s economy. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), it grew by a huge 62% last year and is expected to grow another 37% this year. This is the fastest growth anywhere in the world.
The money from the oil could end up in the hands of just a few people. Guyana is about the same size as Britain, but it only has 800,000 people, and most of the land is covered in rainforests. This means each person could get a lot of money from the oil. In 2015, when a big American company called Exxon found oil in Guyana, each person’s share of the economy was $11,000. This year, experts think it will be more than $60,000 per person.
President Ali said Guyana doesn’t plan to join a group called OPEC that controls a lot of the world’s oil. He also said he would follow the agreements that the leader before him made with Exxon, even though some people say those deals gave too much to Exxon.
“The deal with Exxon could have been better for Guyana,” President Ali said. “Exxon got a good deal from the last government, but we believe it’s very important to keep our promises. We can’t go back and change the deal.”
He also said he’s sure that Guyana will win a fight with Venezuela over who owns some of Guyana’s land. Venezuela says it owns two-thirds of Guyana’s land, but this fight has been going on since the late 1800s. There’s a court case happening now, and President Ali thinks Guyana will win. “We know where our borders are, and we’re very sure about our case,” he said. “There have already been two court decisions that say we’re right. We’ve also asked Venezuela to take part in this process and accept what the court decides.”
SOURCE: BBC