Widening energy collaboration

THE PRIME Minister’s appearance at this week's TT Energy Conference was something of a victory lap for his administration.

Coming on the heels of the announcement of the restructuring of Atlantic LNG and the cinching of the Dragon gas field deal with Venezuela, there was a decidedly buoyant mood in Dr Rowley’s call to energy stakeholders for collaboration.

However, as noted by many experts, it could take years for the recent breakthroughs to result in revenue coming through the pipeline. Four years might pass before gas arrives from Venezuela.

Meanwhile, survival actually dictates a deepening of diversification.

In a week in which the world observes the International Day of Clean Energy, the PM’s resort, yet again, to rhetoric which paints the hydrocarbon sector as being under global attack was both revealing and somewhat out of step. If the sector is under attack, it is certainly showing little evidence of being in any way substantially damaged.

Last year was the planet’s warmest on record, according to the US National Centres for Environmental Information. There were significant climate anomalies and events. December was also the hottest December on record. All the scientists agree that the situation is alarming and are clear on what needs to be done.

And yet, in that month, COP28 rejected the notion of an immediate phase-out of fossil fuels in favour of a “transition away.”

The next conference, COP29, which takes place later this year, is unlikely to result in a different outcome as it is to be hosted by yet another fossil-fuel producer, Azerbaijan, a country that reportedly plans to scale up production in the coming years.

If the gas sector is under “attack,” that has not affected demand. Many projections seem to suggest world demand for gas will grow, even considering the sobering climate-change realities that inform calls for change.

Instead of seeing things in a combative sense, Dr Rowley should adopt a more pragmatic approach which does not risk alienating potential partners in green energy.

January 26 marks five years since the founding of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), of which this country is a party. The agency works to assist countries in energy transitions, providing state-of-the-art data and analyses on technology, innovation, policy, finance and investment.

This country should deepen its collaboration with this entity, as well as all other international bodies which can assist in shaping a robust green-energy policy.

Closer to home, there is also a need to re-examine the role and functioning of the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) and the laws governing it.

Since the EMA was operationalised in 2005, the world has changed drastically and the environmental issues we face have become more fraught. With carbon capture and storage an emerging aspect of the landscape, there is need for regulatory oversight for the implementation of government policy.

Ostensibly, the State is committed to making green energy service 30 per cent of energy needs by 2030.

Organisations like the EMA could play a role in making that objective more than just a pipe dream.