Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira M.P., on Saturday explained to Region Seven residents that the Government’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030 is a “mixed energy approach” to address the issue of climate change.
Speaking at the LCDS consultation in Bartica, Minister Teixeira stated, “When we look at what we call a mixed energy approach, we will continue to exploit oil and gas, to reduce the cost of electricity, so that our people will have reliable, affordable electricity, and also the manufacturers and others will have [a] reliable source to produce.”
The minister explained that, “we intend to use the oil and gas revenues to be able to develop the country in a faster way, than if we didn’t have oil and gas.”
Minister Teixeira noted too, that over the past seven years, Guyana has earned approximately US$200 million through carbon services. This means the country was generating income by sustainably managing its the rainforest.
Meanwhile, the minister said the LCDS will allow for newer methods to be established, to protect Guyana’s agriculture sector.
“We have to use science and technology to help us to reduce the impact of flooding in our country, and that means infrastructure, which is expensive. We have to look at ways in which we can also use agriculture, in a way that is not always subjected to flooding,” she said.
Further, Minister Teixeira assured citizens that Government will continue to build the necessary infrastructure, like sea defences.
Residents were also given an overview of the LCDS by Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), Vanessa Benn.
