PM to speak at international energy conference

Prime Minister Mia Mottley is scheduled to be among speakers headlining the 2022 International Energy Conference and Expo in Guyana next week.

Organisers of the February 15-18 event said the presence of the Barbadian leader who was the recipient of a 2021 Champion of the Earth Award, the United Nation’s highest environmental honour, will be significant given her passionate stance on climate change and its impact on small island states.

The Prime Minister is expected to be well-received at the opening of the conference which focuses on a wide range of issues impacting the future of the hydrocarbon industry.

At the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Mottley captivated world leaders with her  speech on the need for serious action to be taken on climate change.

She highlighted that the failure to provide critical climate finance to small island developing states (SIDS) at the frontline of climate change is measured in the lives and livelihoods of their communities. Mottley had also urged world leaders to increase ambitions and “try harder” since a 2-degree Celsius rise in global temperature would be a “death sentence” for island and coastal communities.

Prime Minister Mottley is among a handful of Heads of State slated to speak at the conference which will be held at the Guyana Marriott Hotel. President of Suriname Chandrikapersad Santokhi and Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo are also in the line-up.

Guyana’s President Dr Irfaan Ali will deliver the keynote address. The host country’s Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo will deliver remarks at the formal opening of the exhibition.

The feature address will be delivered by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chairman of ExxonMobil, Darren Woods. (BT/PR)