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August 24 ,2021

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Conservation International Guyana (CI-G) has withdrawn from a US$10 million partnership agreement with ExxonMobil that was aimed at the advancement of a sustainable economy through investments in education, research, sustainable management and preservation of the country’s ecosystem

“We jointly agreed with Conservation International to discontinue its participation in the programme,” Janelle Persaud, Public and Government Affairs Advisor for Exxon affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited, told Stabroek News in response to queries about the severed partnership.

CI-G’s Technical Director Curtis Bernard, in a response to questions posed by this newspaper, deflected when asked why his organisation had opted out of the agreement.

There has been no definitive explanation as to what led to the end of the agreement between the parties. However, CI-G had come in for flak for entering the partnership with the ExxonMobil Foundation, the oil major’s philanthropic arm. CI-G is an environmental organisation while ExxonMobil is a carbon releaser that has been accused of denying the impact of fossil fuels on climate change.

Critics have said that the conservation work of CI runs counter to the carbon-emitting profile of ExxonMobil and that CI-G had allowed its independence to be compromised by entering this partnership with ExxonMobil.

Bernard said that CI-G is working in partnership with a variety of established partners and donors to continue implementing and supporting environmental initiatives and sustainable development in Guyana. CI-G, he noted, is fostering conservation efforts in the Rupununi and on the coast

Notwithstanding this development, Persaud, in an email response, said, the ExxonMobil Foundation is continuing its support for economic diversification, capacity building and the preservation of Guyana’s unique natural heritage for future generations.

“We will continue our support by partnering with local NGOs to implement this important environmental work in Guyana,” she explained.

Under the agreement, CI-G was expected to work along with the University of Guyana (UG) and the Arizona State University (ASU) on sustainable development, economic diversification and conservation efforts.

According to Persaud, the Foundation is nonetheless moving forward with its mandate to lend support for capacity building and conservation efforts through the UG. She noted that the programme is yielding tangible results by helping UG educate, train and support the next generation of Guyanese leaders in the sectors.

“The ExxonMobil Foundation is currently supporting advanced degrees for 20 UG academics and future leaders (16 PhD and 4 MSc) in sustainability, chemistry, engineering, agriculture, entrepreneurship, data sciences, community participation and sustainable tourism. The programmes are being delivered for UG by Arizona State University,” she disclosed.

Over their lifespan, the projects being undertaken by these scholars, Persaud said, are expected to engage or employ 1,000 community workers; involve, train, engage and certify 500 students and policy makers, and include more than 100 multi-disciplinary researchers.

The projects are trackable online through the production of publications and videos.

A virtual symposium introducing this programme was held on June 14, 2021, she added.

Just after the signing of the partnership agreement in 2018, ExxonMobil had said in a statement that the investment is also aimed at supporting Guyana’s Green State Development Plan, the country’s then 15-year development plan that, among other things, intended to diversify Guyana’s economy and balance economic growth with sustainable management and conservation of the country’s ecosystems. The statement said that ExxonMobil Foundation will provide the investment over five years.

The statement had said that initial grant money would fund a feasibility study piloted by CI, through its affiliate CI-G, to further define the details of the programme. Once defined, CI-G and UG were expected to deliver the education, training, research and retention programmes that would “help ensure that economic growth reinforces Guyana’s environmental development goals”.

The statement added that the investment was also aimed at expanding conservation areas in the Rupununi Wetlands, help mangrove restoration and management and support improvements to community-based fishing on Guyana’s coast, a sector the government of Guyana has identified as critically important to the wellbeing of the Guyanese people.

During the 2018, signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at the Pegasus Hotel between the two universities, Bernard said the agreement with the universities along with the then partnership with ExxonMobil Foundation marked the type of diverse collaborations which are needed for the country to secure its future.

Then Vice President of CI-G, David Singh, during the signing, had said that the project would be very significant and while it is still in its early stage of development, they were hoping to have deeper engagements with many of the stakeholders to come up with the most strategic approach to invest in people and nature, with the ultimate goal of increasing conservation, and job and livelihood creation for a sustainable and diversified economy.

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CI-G signed an agreement with Exxon, a fossil fuel company that is a major contributor to global warming.  It likely has come to its senses and perhaps faced pressure from its benefactors.  CI-G has done the right thing by withdrawing from the agreement.  Global public opinion on oil companies is becoming increasingly negative so expect increased pressure being put on them by their various stakeholders. 

T
@Totaram posted:

Global public opinion on oil companies is becoming increasingly negative so expect increased pressure being put on them by their various stakeholders.

This will be countered by pressure from the consumers paying more at the pump, absorbing higher food costs due to rising transportation costs and paying more to heat their homes because of the shutdown of pipelines etc. Note the substantial increase of energy costs over the last year.

The reality is that oil and gas will be around for quite some time. Nat Gas represents much of the clean energy produced now which is not renewable energy (their goal).

Roughly 2% of the cars now are EV. It will take close to a decade or more for EV to become the norm. And what will they be recharged on? A non renewable energy based power grid!

Trucks, buses, trains, how do they get moved to renewable energy? Hydrogen fuel cells are one option, but again, that is nowhere near close. (Green hydrogen is considered renewable)

So my point is that all this talk about the demise of oil and gas is decades too early and some of these stakeholders will finally come to realize what I've written above and back off.

And the energy companies know this. However they are using the time they have to adapt. Drillers etc have moved into carbon capture and a lot of these oil companies have substantial investments in green hydrogen. These oil companies will adapt and do very well over the coming years.

Many of these new "green energy" companies will go bankrupt. The standard bearers for 100 years will still be there.

FM

Guana man thanks for this writing. It has brought your identity down to two people. These two people indicates the connection to Eusi or certain people who knew Eusi from the Buxton area. But both were not WPA people.

Ali Khan Azad
Last edited by Ali Khan Azad

Guana man thanks for this writing. It has brought your identity down to two people. These two people indicates the connection to Eusi or certain people who knew Eusi from the Buxton area. But both were not WPA people.

..lol....Good luck with your wild goose chase. I doubt any of the folks you list will bother to even read, much less post here.

Guana man is well versed on a lot of topics. You want to talk real estate? You can bring your 2 swishy hips and yuh 2 frens (roy khan and prashad) wid yuh. lol

FM

Guana man thanks for this writing. It has brought your identity down to two people. These two people indicates the connection to Eusi or certain people who knew Eusi from the Buxton area. But both were not WPA people.

Saw your thread that Jangles closed. Bottom line is, I never met you LMAO. You're a fraud. You were around Burnham as a lil boy though. You were scarred emotionally, torn by your feelings for Indians and Indian culture and your love for Forbes, whom you looked up to. You were dying to get on that tennis court with his kids....lol

FM

Jorgon was on the tennis court with his nieces. Ali Khan was not invited. I saw you a few times at school grounds. We never met but I know people who are very good friends with you. They would tell me how good you were at math

Ali Khan Azad

Jorgon was on the tennis court with his nieces. Ali Khan was not invited. I saw you a few times at school grounds. We never met but I know people who are very good friends with you. They would tell me how good you were at math

Aloo, dem seh dat yuh is a wanna be koolee.

Mitwah
@Former Member posted:

"47 years ago I became a tough, hardened soldier, trained at Tacama Battle School and the jungles in Guyana."    

who said that? Prashad aka Ali Khan aka Roy khan?????? he was none of that. Did national service, shaking he beetie at Kimbia.

FM

Jorgon was on the tennis court with his nieces. Ali Khan was not invited. I saw you a few times at school grounds. We never met but I know people who are very good friends with you. They would tell me how good you were at math

This is beginning to sound like love.

T

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