…will share clean energy technologies – White House Climate Advisor
By Vahnu Manikchand
With the Biden-Harris Administration prioritising climate change both domestically and internationally, the United States is now looking for partners across the globe and according to US Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch, Guyana will make a good partner on this front.
She explained that while there is not any programme in place presently between the US and Guyana, this is an area that the two countries will definitely collaborate on. In fact, she mentioned that only recently Guyana participated in a Ministerial Roundtable hosted by the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry.
That virtual session last month was attended by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, who, according to Ambassador Lynch, expressed support for efforts to tackle the climate emergency and also expressed interest with partnering with the US on this global issue.
Amongst its pledges to the global climate fight, the Biden-Harris Administration has committed to double overall climate financing and triple the amount of finance going towards adaptation in countries that need help in managing climate impacts.
In addition to this, the US Government has also recognised that it has international obligations to not just meet its commitment in the Paris Agreement but also providing resources for vulnerable and in-need nations. As such, the US is planning to share its domestic technologies and innovations with developing countries to aid in their efforts to combat climate change.
Energy technologies
This was according to White House National Climate Advisor, Gina McCarthy, during a briefing with journalists from several countries who are participating in a three-week Virtual Reporting Tour (VRT) on “Combatting the Climate Crisis through US Innovation” hosted by the US Department of State’s Foreign Press Centers (FPC).
McCarthy was at the time responding to a question posed by Inews on the US sharing its technologies and innovations to assist developing countries.
“I want other countries to understand and to have access to the innovations in clean energy technologies as soon as we can so they can reap not just the cost-savings benefit but the public health and safety and security benefits that a clean energy economy can bring,” McCarthy stated.
The National Climate Advisor pointed out that it is important for the US to recognise, and it has, the size of its economy as well as the technology and innovations it currently has.
She explained that both herself and Secretary Kerry are working together to ensure that the US positions itself domestically to be effective, and raises the strength and profile and commitment of the world towards tackling climate change.
The National Climate Advisor disclosed that like in most countries, the electricity and transportation sectors in the US represent some of the biggest challenges that they face. She said that the current US Administration is looking into every sector, at what kind of already-existing, cost-effective clean technologies and products are already being deployed.
Moreover, she pointed out that the US is using the power of both its private sector and public sector investments to try to drive clean energy investments.
Further, McCarthy noted that the US is also in a position to start working with some of the independent offices and agencies in the Government as part of its “whole-of-government approach” to start advancing the transparency of where its private sector companies are investing. This, she added, will allow investors and shareholders to better understand what is going on and enable them to use their power to ensure that US values are best represented financially in all markets across the world.
Meanwhile, the US envoy in Guyana could not say definitively whether any US company has expressed serious interests in investing in renewable energy areas in Guyana. However, she too posited that they try to ensure that any company that is coming here to invest from the US engages in green practices.
“We’re hoping that they all want to make green investments because it is such an important issue… And we always emphasise the importance of doing whatever work they’re interested in, in an environmentally friendly manner,” Ambassador Lynch related. (Extracted and modified from the Guyana Times)
