President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali has said there is a need for oil companies to invest more in carbon capture technologies systems that improve efficiency, productivity, and innovations, reducing the environmental footprint of oil and gas production.
While noting that Guyana is positioning itself as a global model for balancing hydrocarbon development with environmental sustainability, President Ali encouraged greater investment in carbon capture, low-carbon technologies and market-based environmental services.
Addressing an international audience at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy in Houston, Texas, on Monday, the president said global discussions on energy have focused too heavily on subsidies, incentives and restrictions surrounding renewable energy and fossil fuels.
He made it clear that insufficient attention has been given to advancing technologies that reduce the environmental impact of oil production.
“For too long, the argument has been around whether more money should be in renewables, what level of subsidies should be in renewables, what level of incentives should be there, how we should disincentivise oil and gas development,” the president said.
He continued, “And we have not spent enough time understanding how technology and research and development can continue to help us to produce a barrel of oil with lesser and lesser impact on the environment.”
President Ali also raised concerns about global inequalities in renewable energy investment and manufacturing, noting that the majority of investment in renewables is concentrated in the United States, China and the European Union.
He said Guyana is demonstrating that countries can pursue economic growth through oil and gas development while simultaneously preserving forests and biodiversity.
“We see Guyana as having this unique opportunity in showcasing what a balanced energy agenda should and must look like,” President Ali stated.
He highlighted Guyana’s environmental credentials, noting that Guyana maintains approximately 85 per cent forest cover, one of the world’s lowest deforestation rates, and stores about 19.5 gigatons of carbon.
Guyana continues to advocate for market-based mechanisms that place financial value on standing forests and biodiversity.
President Ali referenced Guyana’s role in co-chairing the Global Tropical Forest Alliance and leading efforts through the Global Biodiversity Alliance to create systems that monetise biodiversity protection and environmental preservation.
According to him, Guyana’s approach demonstrates that hydrocarbon development, forest conservation, biodiversity protection and renewable energy advancement can coexist within a balanced development framework.
As carbon pricing and other environmental measures expand globally, Guyana’s comparatively low-carbon oil production will provide an additional long-term advantage for investors and the energy sector here.