The South American nation of Guyana entered into an association with ExxonMobil after huge oil sources have been found off its coast, however many questions stay about what Guyana will truly reap from the undertaking.Joining the podcast to debate the undertaking’s potential environmental, social, and financial impacts is award-winning journalist and podcaster Amy Westervelt: the eighth season of her acclaimed podcast “Drilled” examines this situation.Westervelt additionally discusses the present state of the world’s efforts to handle local weather change, the continued realities which are seemingly in direct contradiction with these targets, and her views on the facility of podcasting.“What a complete failure of worldwide local weather negotiations that Global South nations [are] on this place of getting to make use of oil cash to pay for local weather adaptation. That’s ridiculous,” Westervelt says throughout the interview.
The South American nation of Guyana, whose economic system historically has relied on tourism, agriculture, and fishing, has begun enterprise with oil big ExxonMobil to make an enormous offshore oil drilling undertaking a actuality alongside its coast. As the world discusses how one can deal with local weather change, the company is racing to construct infrastructure there to start drilling operations that may usually take a decade.
This week on the podcast, veteran local weather journalist Amy Westervelt discusses this undertaking and what the tropical nation is prone to endure from it, a actuality which she covers within the newest season of her podcast, Drilled.
Listen right here:
Given Guyana’s vulnerability to local weather change and the coastal location of its capital metropolis Georgetown, the undertaking stands in stark distinction to international local weather change targets, significantly for a nation whose conventional financial drivers may be harmed.
Westervelt has reported that Guyana’s president justified the nation’s transfer by saying it could pay for a clear vitality transition. However, Georgetown, is already beneath sea degree. “They’re doing the factor that may exacerbate that downside,” says Westervelt.
“I take a look at that, and I feel what a complete failure of worldwide local weather negotiations that Global South nations — those which have fossil gasoline sources — are on this place of getting to make use of oil cash to pay for local weather adaptation. That’s ridiculous,” she says.
The Demerara Harbour bridge in Georgetown, Guyana, exhibits how near sea degree the capital lies. Image by Dinesh Chandrapal by way of Unsplash.
At the identical time, many governments of industrialized and rich nations the world over look like persevering with improvement by way of a ‘enterprise as standard’ strategy, together with U.S. President Joe Biden, who lately authorized the large Willow oil drilling undertaking in Alaska, which might generate 9.2 million metric tons of carbon emissions every year.
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Mike DiGirolamo is Mongabay’s viewers engagement affiliate. Find him on Twitter @MikeDiGirolamo, Instagram, TikTookay and Mastodon.
Banner Image: Oil manufacturing vessel Liza Destiny 200 km offshore of Guyana. Image by way of www.oilnow.gy.
See associated audio: A dialog with Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Elizabeth Kolbert about technological options to local weather change and extra, hear right here:
Podcast: Goodbye to blue skies? The bother with engineered options
Adaptation, Adaptation To Climate Change, Climate, Climate Change, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment, Featured, Just Transition, Mining, Oceans, Oil, Oil Drilling, Podcast
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