Pollard, Ramnarine launch initiative to promote EVs

WEST INDIES cricket icons Kieron Pollard and Dinanath Ramnarine have pooled their skills and resources, launching GoElectricTT, an initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The pair signed a contract with the International Development Bank (IDB) in February to provide support funding for the initiative, designed to encourage corporate entities to switch to electric vehicles to help reduce emissions and help meet targets of the Paris Agreement.

Pollard said GoElectricTT “is about sustainability and securing the future for the next generation.

“Unless we take immediate and deliberate action to tackle climate change and confront greenwashing, our children will face a bleak future of rising temperatures, rising sea levels, food insecurity and resulting economic decline.”

Pollard and Ramnarine’s sustainability drive extends to their investment in Blewcoast, a firm specialising in certified emissions measurement, accounting and reporting.

A release from Blewcoast said, “The firm’s focus is very much connected with this demographic of future leaders, and the future of work.

“As the world negotiates its way through the energy transition, Blewcoast has a cadre of highly skilled individuals in the fields of accounting, assurance, environmental sciences and engineering to support decarbonisation.”

“Pollard and Ramnarine believe that the younger generation will be the ones to act and lead change through their buying power, that will influence policy and result in definitive action. Millennials, Gen Z and Generation Alpha are acutely aware that making the right conscious choices today is a key factor to averting the looming environmental and economic crisis.”

Ramnarine, a retired player and administrator, described Blewcoast as a “turning point for decarbonising global industries.”

He said, “Blewcoast is totally in sync with our objectives to build awareness and drive solutions to address the global carbon reduction challenge.

“We are proud to be part of this, where sport, accounting, environmental scientist and energy expertise collaborate as one team, with one common objective.

“As with cricket, it takes a team with the right skills, clear strategy and flawless execution to win. Our win is for global sustainability.”

Joel Pemberton, Blewcoast co-founder and chairman, said, “What gets measured gets done. As with sport, it takes teamwork to win; our win is global decarbonisation in a sustainable and pragmatic manner.

“As leaders, our actions will speak louder than our words, and it is our duty to leave our planet in a better place than when we got here.

“Kieron and Dinas’ sporting leadership skills complement Blewcoast’s existing skills, anchored in TT’s energy industry, which is a global powerhouse in the natural gas, LNG, methanol, ammonia and steel industries

“As humans, we share this common challenge, and we can all win through powerful collaboration.

“Understanding the need for pragmatism through this journey, will result in positive outcomes for humanity.”

Welcoming Pollard and Ramnarine, Blewcoast’s other co-founder, Frank Teelucksingh, said the journey to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions is a “shared one from small community initiatives to collaboration across borders.

Pollard and Ramnarine’s "journey to help create a better world," he said, "is our journey as well.

"This collaboration will help expand our engagement with communities across the globe, especially with the younger generation whose future we shape today.”