Bahamas Reef Environmental Education Foundation (BREEF) Executive Director Casuarina McKinney-Lambert on Tuesday expressed her disdain over government’s newly confirmed partnership with Shell North America (NA) for liquified natural gas (LNG) plant at Clifton Pier.
Earlier this year, it was reported that Shell NA LNG LLC & Affiliated, was awarded the contract out of 19 companies that vied to build a new generation plant.
For McKinney-Lambert however, the news raises many concerns about the proposed plant’s impact on the country.
“Climate change is caused by the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and gas, including liquid natural gas (LNG), that release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere,” McKinney-Lambert noted in an interview with Eyewitness News yesterday.
“Such changing climate is manifested in sea level rise, elevated water temperatures and ocean acidity, increased intensity of hurricanes and other extreme weather, with negative impacts for all Bahamians.”
McKinney-Lambert highlighted the fact that The Bahamas is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world when it comes to climate change, because of its low-lying makeup.
The country’s infrastructure and coastal population – notwithstanding the fact that The Bahamas is a hurricane-prone zone – makes for a potentially disastrous problem, she said.
According to McKinney-Lambert, the use of fossil fuels is a notoriously polluting industry, resulting in heavy metals such as mercury ending up in our seafood. Water pollution such as this, she said, is visible on a daily basis at Clifton.
Her strong sentiment is that The Bahamas has an opportunity to switch much of its means of power generation from fossil fuels to renewable sources, such as solar and wind, and the government should make this a top priority.
“The technology for renewable energies has progressed in leaps and bounds to be able to provide reliable, cost-effective, non-polluting energy,” she explained.
She said that it also provides opportunities for new jobs in solar and wind power generation installation and transmission.
“The Bahamas has a few small but successful pilot projects, in South Eleuthera for example, but has not yet fully embraced this great opportunity,” she said.
