In an address that was a stinging rebuke of many unfair global systems, Guyana’s President Dr. Irfaan Ali told fellow world leaders on Wednesday of his country’s plan to demonstrate how it can foster development while simultaneously protecting the environment and pursuing oil and gas development.
The President, during his contribution at the General Debate of the 78th United Nations (UN) General Assembly, spoke at length about the climate crisis confronting the world.
Though he acknowledged that countries must reduce their greenhouse emissions, Dr. Ali said small, developing countries like Guyana have not contributed enormous amounts of emissions and as such, should not carry this burden now.
He said that Guyana and other small, developing countries must get global support for their development instead.
Focusing specifically on Guyana, President Ali pointed out that the country has been preserving its intact forests for years without adequate compensation. Those forests help to trap the harmful gases emitted. Now, however, the country is pursuing a prolific oil and gas industry that many believe conflicts with forest-saving efforts.
The Head of State, however, made it clear that Guyana should be allowed to harness all of its resources.
“My country, Guyana, is blessed with the best of both worlds, that is, the ability to lead on climate change and the use of our expansive oil and gas reserves to contribute to the advancement and development of our country and region,” Dr. Ali stressed.
He later added, “As custodians of a rainforest the size of England and Scotland combined, we are of the view that the lack of financing for standing forests suggests they are worth more dead than alive.
“That is why we support the expansion of financial mechanisms that appropriately value the environmental services provided by forests including through the carbon market.”
But allowing countries like Guyana to harness their resources is still not enough, according to the President. As such, he also took aim at the global financial system which he, and other leaders of the developing world, have been critical of.
BETTER FINANCING NEEDED
Dr. Ali noted that the global financing system, which allows countries to get loans and other financial aid, is not responsive to the challenges faced by developing countries. So reform, he said, is crucial.
“Financing is a cornerstone of all efforts to achieve the (Sustainable Development Goals) and the challenges faced by developing countries, including the funding gaps, which I highlighted in the SDG Summit.
“… The existing financial architecture is incapable of addressing current global challenges and must be reformed,” he said.
The President’s apparent challenge of long-accepted systems seemed to be backed by his attire. Unlike his two prior appearances at the general debate since becoming Head of State, he did not wear the dark-coloured, formal suit most Heads of State are usually dressed in.
Instead, spoke in front of the iconic emerald marble in an all-white, cultural garment.
And he spent his wide-ranging 20-minute address tackling several other global challenges including food security, peace and stability and international law.
