Guyana President Irfan Ali’s attack on “Western hypocrisy” on carbon emissions has gone viral.
Georgetown:
Guyana’s President Irfan Ali’s sweeping attack on “Western hypocrisy” on carbon emissions has gone viral.
President Irfaan Ali was speaking during an interview with BBC reporter Stephen Thacker, who asked the president about the carbon emission rates of Guyana’s planned oil and gas extraction off its coast.
In a widely circulated interview clip, Guyana’s president can be seen interrupting a reporter’s questions and grilling him about whether he has the right to “lecture him on climate change” and whether he is in the “pocket of environmental destroyers” . Lived through the industrial revolution and is now lecturing us”.
President of Guyana, Mohammed Irfan Ali 🇬🇾 at home! ! ! 🔥🔥🔥pic.twitter.com/QXfXMJtIx7
— Musa (@mkhankhakwani) March 29, 2024
President Ali rebutted reporters’ doubts that Guyana’s oil and gas extraction will result in more than two billion tonnes of carbon emissions off its coast, saying: “Did you know that Guyana has a permanent forest the size of England and Scotland combined? A piece of storage A forest that has produced 19.5 gigatons of carbon, a forest that we have kept alive.”
In response, reporters asked him whether this would give Guyana the right to extract oil and gas and emit emissions.
“Does that give you the right to lecture us on climate change? I’m going to lecture you on climate change because we keep this forest alive,” the president said. “This store stores 19.5 gigatons of carbon, and you enjoy, all The world enjoys it too, you don’t pay us, you don’t value it, you don’t see the value on which the Guyanese people live.”
‘We have the lowest deforestation rates in the world… Guyana will remain net zero’
President Irfaan Ali says Guyana will not attend lectures on climate change as the country develops its huge offshore oil and gas reserves
📻 https://t.co/TKxhR6r3urpic.twitter.com/xIJTgRsfZP
— BBC HARDtalk (@BBCHARDtalk) March 29, 2024
“Guess what? We have the lowest deforestation rate in the world. Guess what? Even if we explore to the maximum extent possible on our existing oil and gas resources, we are still net zero. Guyana will still be net zero. Exploration ,” he added.
Guyana’s president has made a strong statement against what he calls Western hypocrisy, saying those who destroy the environment are now questioning his country.
“I’m not done yet because this is a hypocrisy that exists in the world. The world has lost 65% of its biodiversity in the last 50 years. We have retained our biodiversity. Do you value it? You Are you ready?” When will the developed countries pay, or are you in their pocket? ” said the President of Guyana.
“Are you in the pockets of those who destroyed the environment through the industrial revolution? Are you in the pockets of those who destroyed the environment through the industrial revolution? Are you in the pockets of those who destroyed the environment through the industrial revolution? Now you are in their pockets ? Were you paid by them?” he added.
Many developing countries have raised the issue, calling on the West to drastically reduce its carbon footprint.
In early 2023, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged rich countries to radically reduce their carbon footprint “as early as” 2050 and called on the world to achieve concrete financial results to help developing and poor countries combat climate change.
Prime Minister Modi, while addressing the ‘Climate Finance Transformation’ conference at COP28, said India expects concrete and real progress on the New Collective Quantified Goals (NCQGs), the new goal for global climate finance after 2025.
“Developed countries should completely reduce their carbon footprint before 2050,” he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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