By Jomo Paul
[www.inewsguyana.com] – Guyana has lost significant international political standing in the area of climate change under the new APNU+AFC administration, says Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo.
Jagdeo made the comment as a prelude to the United Nations Climate Change Conference talks scheduled for Paris on November 30.
At that conference, Guyana will be represented by Governance Minister Raphael Trotman, but Jagdeo says that Trotman does not have the expertise and knowledge needed to successfully take part in such deliberations.
According to the Opposition Leader, President David Granger would have been best suited to represent Guyana at such a conference given that there will be a Heads of State meeting before negotiations begin with Ministers.
He said that Guyana is sending someone “who has very vague understanding” of the concepts and international policies revolving around the issue of Climate Change on the international sphere.
‘This government has been totally silent on any of these things and we have lost any of the leadership role that they have played in any of these political forum…We sent Minister Trotman to Paris and we have not heard what this government’s position on climate change is,” said Jagdeo.
The Opposition Leader argued that it is as a result of this and the unclear direction of the APNU+AFC administration with respect to climate change that Guyana has lost critical standing in this sphere.
“We should make a big push to get the best agreement we can – particularly the developing countries they have to go to Paris and push for a big agreement…We have lost momentum because we are not clear about this government’s policy…we have lost relevance.”
“What emerges from Paris will either give hope to a large number of countries –developing countries – or will be disappointing to them…Success at Paris would result in a global agreement that is legally binding. If we do not have that then what we are agreeing to is a fallback position,” the former President stated.
He accused the current administration of not paying enough attention to the issues surrounding climate change and being beret of political will.
Amazing how you are so concerned with climate change, as the opposition. You constantly keep inferring that everyone and everything about the new administration is wrong. You are speaking freely, even though most of what you say is BS; interesting that, not too long ago, no one in Guyana dared oppose you or Ramotar, not if they valued their lives.
What is Jagdeo talking about under the PPP administration Guyana was known as the country that harbors drug dealers. Guyana was never leading in climate change he should stop day dreaming.
Dear Honorable Champion of the Earth, leave the blind govt let them crash their brick heads into a concrete wall….they will clean their eyes at the specialty hospital and start see again after 2020.