By: Rebecca Theodore
April 14, 2023
Energy is critical to achieving almost all of the Sustainable Development Goals. From its role in economic progress and poverty mitigation, access to energy is an important pillar for the wellbeing of humanity.
Outside of the fact that there are still over 700 million people without access to electricity globally, and about 2.4 billion cooking with harmful fuels that also are polluting the environment; it seems that Guyana is striking a subtle balance between extracting energy to lift people out of poverty and combatting the climate crisis. Guyana has an abundance of energy resources that could contribute significantly to global advancement, and to the attainment of goal 7 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal agenda.
Admittedly, Guyana’s abundant energy resources now have the potential to power the world, guarantee more affordable energy for American families and job creators, and ensure that people everywhere can enjoy peace and prosperity.
Despite the 2022 sustainable development goal report, that the world is not on track to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7, due to post COVID-19 complications and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to the World Bank, Guyana saw some of the planet’s fastest economic growth last year: more than 43 percent, as new offshore fields started production. The International Monetary Fund also concluded that Guyana’s GDP has expanded by a remarkable 49% during 2022.
Moreover, a new study by energy intelligence group Rystad Energy further confirms, that Guyana is now the new global leader for new energy discoveries. Guyanese oil production is growing at such a rapid pace that it will surpass production levels in other big offshore basins, including the US, Norway, and Mexico by 2035 to become the world’s largest offshore producer.
While statistics further document that Guyana can extract billions of barrels of oil while maintaining net-zero carbon emissions due to its vast rainforests, which suck carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, Exxon Mobile and its partners are now investing more than $10 billion in production and are expected to pump 1.2 million barrels of oil and gas per day from the Starbroek block by 2027.
This means, that the large volumes of natural gas produced at Starbroek comes with environmental benefits, that enables the Guyanese government to replace old electric power plants that use fuel oil with a new state of the art natural gas plant. This means that the Guyanese government is able to fund the installation of solar farms and new hydropower project, thereby enhancing international co-operation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology, viz: renewable energy, energy efficiency, cleaner fossil fuel technology, and promote investments in energy infrastructure and clean energy technology.
Consequently, these projects will also ensure universal access to reliable and modern energy services, and increase the share of renewable energy in the global mix. As a result, these projects will also double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency, and expand infrastructure and upgrade technology for supplying modern and sustainable and energy services in developing countries; in particular least developed countries, small island developing states and land locked developing countries.
For this purpose, the impactful role of energy comes at a time when more investments are needed for global energy access, namely for electrification and clean cooking. The impactful role of energy in resolving global challenges and the need to invest in food security, education and about putting systems in place to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals is now rife in Guyana.
So then, at a time when the Biden administration is now focusing on efforts to end new leasing and drilling for oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico and other U.S. offshore provinces, the billions of investment capital targeting new offshore oil and gas reserves, should now flow into countries like Guyana towards improved global relations.
Thus, collaboration between the government of Guyana and the United Nations to advance the 2030 agenda for sustainable development in Guyana should now be of primary concern. The United Nations Sustainable Development goal agenda must seek to ensure that Guyana and the US can advance strategic partnerships on energy, climate and food security and support Guyana’s global advocacy on candidature for non permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council.
(Rebecca Theodore is an international journalist and syndicated Op-ed columnist based in New York City. She writes on the platform of politics, national security, human rights and climate change, and now reports on the oil and gas industry in Guyana in reference to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals agenda. Follow her on twitter @rebethd)
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