Despite persistent attempts by fossil fuel-producing governments and corporations to downplay the climate crisis, the reality of global warming returned decisively to the global agenda through the Santa Marta Conference held in Colombia last week. Representatives from 59 countries gathered to move beyond the stagnant debates that have long plagued UN Conference of the Parties (COP) negotiations over the legitimacy of climate science. Instead, they focused on advancing renewable energy solutions and a just energy transition. Given President Irfaan Ali’s promotion of the Global Biodiversity Alliance (GBA), launched in July 2025 as an initiative to protect all forms of life — human, animal, and ecological — from the destructive effects of extractive industries, Guyana’s absence from a Conference with the same stated objectives was particularly troubling. The similarity of objectives was summarized by the Colombian Minister of Environment and Chair of the Conference, who declared:
“We decided not to resign ourselves to an economy built on the destruction of life. We decided that the transition away from fossil fuels could no longer remain a slogan but must become a concrete, political, and collective endeavour”. Rather than decline to attend, it turns out that Guyana did not qualify to be invited on the grounds of not yet officially being a member of the group of countries committed to energy transition to alternatives. Non-qualification for the Energy Transition Conference coalition will come as a surprise to Guyanese accustomed to being regaled as a climate champion.
However, this new approach was reinforced by President Ali’s recent address to an Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, Texas, in which he urged nations to move away from the concept of “energy transition” and instead embrace what he termed “energy balance.” Among other things, this new policy position serves as a public rejection of Guyana’s NDC submission to the Paris COP, which aimed at 100% alternative energy in Guyana by 2025.
Emphasis on “energy balance” rather than transition to alternatives also reinforces concerns that Guyana’s environmental diplomacy is designed to justify contradictory goals. Guyana has become increasingly adept at promoting environmental initiatives that many critics regard as forms of “greenwashing.” The sale of carbon credits to major fossil fuel producers, allowing them to offset continued emissions while maintaining environmentally destructive practices, remains the clearest and most profitable example. Appearances suggest that the Global Biodiversity Alliance (GBA) is travelling the same path as the carbon credit scheme — prioritizing revenue generation over genuine environmental transformation.
Even in the absence of participation at the Conference itself, an official statement from Guyana endorsing the conference’s objectives would still be welcome. Such a statement, however, appears remote, since the Government of Guyana — despite its enormous new oil wealth and relatively small population — has shown little inclination to use its resources in solidarity with either its CARICOM neighbours or other vulnerable developing states. Caribbean solidarity alone should have encouraged a more proactive regional role. Why, for example, has Guyana not considered replacing the PetroCaribe oil subsidy programmeto Caribbean States, previously provided by Venezuela, particularly at a time when global energy prices continue to rise Rather than continuing to boast about preserving Guyana’s forests — as though this were solely the achievement of the current administration rather than a longstanding natural inheritance — meaningful acts of regional solidarity would better defend Guyana against accusations of hypocrisy and political window-dressing with respect to the climate crisis.
As a fossil fuel producer, Guyana can only regain credibility by embracing a principled and genuinely transformative approach incorporating climate justice, gender justice, and financial justice, not merely at the domestic level, but globally. It must also involve society as a whole. Critical questions remain regarding how oil wealth is influencing political decision-making in Guyana. Equally important is whether the principles of climate responsibility, social justice, and sustainable living are becoming integrated into the everyday lives of Guyanese citizens.
One example of initiatives to integrate this broader vision is for individuals to embrace a climate-compatible 1.5 Lifestyle, such as the initiative being pioneered by Policy Forum Guyana, encouraging citizens to understand the role their individual lifestyles play in addressing the climate crisis. Fuel industry propaganda dismissing personal behaviour as insignificant serves only to protect their destructive consumption pattern and encourage the Guyana Government’s obsession with prosperity rather than health, security, and communal solidarity.
Policy Forum Guyana (PFG) remains committed to demonstrating how the decisions emerging from the Santa Marta Conference can inspire renewed efforts to place climate change at the centre of both national policy and personal responsibility.
