Business View Caribbean - February 2016 37
dinary projects and to do the large-scale transforma-
tions which the world is going to need. So, I think you
want them as your allies, not as your enemies. I think
what you need to try to do is create the right policy
environment which incentivizes those companies to
put their technical skills to solving the technical issues
that are going to be needed by the world to cope with
climate change and to invest in renewable technology
and low-carbon solutions.”
What’s the status in Trinidad and Tobago? Has the
government there incentivized the industry to move
in that direction?
Very little to date, but there’s a commitment to intro-
duce more renewable energy into the mix. The chal-
lenge is that our economy and our people have be-
come very used to very cheap electricity and it’s very
difficult to economically bring in renewable energy
when people are used to cheap electricity from natural
gas. So, I think the first step in the process of reduc-
ing our carbon intensity is to make our existing power
generation much more efficient; to stop wasting quite
so much gas and so much electricity. That’s where a
big win can come. And then, over time, to look at what
are the renewable technologies which we can finan-
cially and feasibly introduce in projects to bring them
on-stream. I think those are the steps which we need
to take and there’s a commitment from the govern-
ment around that. Making it happen will take a while.”
Are you optimistic that we will make the transition
and that things will come out positively for our chil-
dren and grandchildren?
I think that climate change is very real. It’s happening
and the scientific evidence for it is very clear. It’s very
unpredictable how climates operate and so there’s a
lot more scientific research which has to continue. But
I think that humans have an amazing ability to adapt
and to find solutions and to find our way through prob-
lems. And I think that the doom and gloom - that the
world is going to come to an end – history just doesn’t
bear out that way of thinking. We will find solutions to
these problems and find a way to solve the problems
that the world has.”
