News Brief
'I Am Going To Lecture You On Climate Change': Guyanese President Confronts BBC Journalist, Calls Out Western Hypocrisy
Guyanese President Irfaan Ali
Guyanese President Irfaan Ali got involved in a heated conversation with BBC journalist Stephen Sackur during an interview, where he called out the western nations for hypocrisy on climate change.
President Ali began the interview by highlighting Guyana's progress and the transformative potential of extracting newly discovered oil and gas reserves off Guyana’s coast.
He also mentioned investments in infrastructure, healthcare, and education to propel the nation to global competitiveness.
“The buildout of the country from an infrastructural standpoint, a social standpoint, and importantly, building a healthcare and education system that is second to none is what is important to us,” Ali said.
However, tensions rose when the conversation shifted to concerns about carbon emissions from future oil extraction.
In a viral interview clip, Guyanese President can be seen interrupting the question of the journalist, and cross questioning him on whether he had the "right to lecture him on climate change" and if he was in the "pockets of those who destroy the environment through the industrial revolution and are now lecturing us".
When questioned about the right to release carbon emissions by the BBC journalist, Ali firmly asserted, “Does it give you the right to lecture us on climate change? I am going to lecture you on climate change because we have kept this forest alive that stores 19.5 gigatonnes of carbon.”
The exchange grew heated as Ali questioned who would bear the costs of infrastructure and development amid climate challenges.
Sackur, however, went on to ask if it still gave Guyana the right to release the carbon.
In response the President asked, “You just said that we are 6-feet below sea level. Who is going to pay for the infrastructure? Who is going to pay for the drainage and irrigation? Who is going to pay for the development and advancement of our country?."
