Phase out fossil fuels to avoid climate ‘catastrophe’, UN’s Guterres says
The United Nations’ top official urged all countries to phase out coal and other fossil fuels to avert climate “catastrophe.”
Speaking to journalists on Thursday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that “we are hurtling towards disaster, eyes wide open” and that “it’s time to wake up and step up.”
Keeping the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius is still doable, Guterres said, but this will have to demand a 45 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030. And if current policies continue, temperature may rise to 2.8°C by the end of the century, which definitely “spells catastrophe.”
Guterres called for immediate global action toward net-zero emissions, which “must start with the polluted heart of the climate crisis: the fossil fuel industry.
He said countries must massively boost investment in renewable energy.
In the Caribbean, countries like Saint Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, and Dominica have shifted and invested towards a cleaner source of energy.
Saint Kitts and Nevis has received a US$17 million funding from the Caribbean Development Bank for its two geothermal production wells and one injection well at the project site.
The Commonwealth of Dominica’s geothermal plant, has progressed significantly over the years. Recently, the plant received a “significant boost” with the proposal to develop an industrial-scale green hydrogen complex.
The Power Engineering International recently reported that “an agreement between the government of Dominica, its geothermal development vehicle, Dominica Geothermal Development Company, and Trinidad and Tobago-based green project developer Kenesjay Green signed in April paves the way for a joint venture company to undertake the development.”
“The initial focus of the joint venture will be on activities to de-risk the project, including sharing of technical resources and capabilities, progressing the bankability of the project and engineering, environment, marketability and other feasibility studies,” the website added.
The size of the proposed project is between 20MW to 250MW, and may even expand to 400MW. The plant is expected to produce 27,000t to 30,000t/year of green hydrogen and 150t to 160t/year of green ammonia, which will be distributed for both the local and export markets.
The geothermal plant also gets its funding from the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme of Dominica, often touted as one of the oldest and trusted CBI programmes in the world.
The CBI programme has been essential in building back a better Dominica post-Typhoon Erika and Hurricane Maria, with thousands of climate-resilient residential buildings and other important infrastructure built in partnership with MMC Development Ltd.