Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips on Tuesday announced that Guyana is developing a dedicated emergency response contingency plan for the Gas-to-Energy project, as part of comprehensive efforts to bolster national disaster preparedness and energy sector resilience.
He made the announcement while delivering the feature address at the launch of the 14th Caribbean Conference on Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM14), held at the Pegasus Suites and Corporate Centre in Georgetown.
“Guyana continues to strengthen its disaster risk management framework to support the country’s rapidly expanding economy, and growing energy sector…..a gas-to-energy emergency response contingency plan is in development,” the prime minister stated.
He explained that resilience and national development are increasingly interconnected, particularly as Guyana invests heavily in critical infrastructure and expands its energy footprint.
“As we build new infrastructure and expand our energy capacity, the task of protecting those assets and the communities around them grows every year,” he said.
The prime minister noted that the project-specific contingency plan forms part of a broader package of safety measures being systematically implemented through the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) to improve the country’s readiness for both natural and technological hazards.
These comprehensive measures include the implementation of the Oil Pollution Prevention, Preparedness, Response and Responsibility Act, the legislative advancement of a modernised Disaster Risk Management Bill, and the expansion of multi-hazard early warning systems utilising geographic information systems (GIS), satellite telemetry, and advanced information and communications technology (ICT).
The launch event was jointly convened by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and Guyana’s Civil Defence Commission as Guyana prepares to host CDM14 from December 7-12, 2026.
This year’s conference will be held under the theme, “Checkpoint 2026 – Resilient Sectors, Sustainable Communities, Safer States.”
The conference will bring together regional leaders, development partners, technical experts, financial institutions, private-sector stakeholders and disaster risk management officials to advance dialogue on resilience and disaster risk reduction.
DPI
