By NEIL HARTNELL
Tribune Business Editor
nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
A well-known environmentalist yesterday accused the Government of reneging on its ‘oil referendum’ promise to the Bahamian people, and described its failure to produce a coherent renewable energy policy as “absolute lunacy”.
Sam Duncombe, head of activist organisation, reEarth, told Tribune Business that the Government seemed to be downplaying the fact that exploratory drilling - which has been given the go-ahead - carried environmental risks of its own.
Stating that she had “zero faith” in the ability of the Government, the Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) or any clean-up contractors to cope with any oil spill, Ms Duncombe said the Government’s inability to develop suitable legislation and policies to facilitate renewable energy in the Bahamas was “madness”.
And she labelled as “absolute lunacy” the Government’s failure to install 134 solar water heaters, and around 100 solar photo voltaic (PV) systems, that were provided by an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) financed project.
This meant, Ms Duncombe said, that the Bahamian taxpayers - via the Government - were paying back a loan that they had derived no benefits from.
The Government, via minister of housing and environment, Kenred Dorsett, announced the Government’s policy ‘u-turn’ at the weekend, confirming that BPC would be allowed to drill exploratory wells in Bahamian waters prior to any public referendum on the issue.
Explaining the rationale for this, Mr Dorsett said holding a referendum before it was confirmed that commercial, extractable quantities of oil existed within Bahamian territory was pointless. He added that the Bahamas was already effectively exposed to the risks of oil exploration, given the Russian drilling activities just 10 miles away from the maritime boundary with Cuba.
However, Ms Duncombe effectively accused the Government of a betrayal, saying it had “gone back on its word” in relation to an oil referendum.
Hinting that the recent ‘web shop gaming poll’ outcome might have influenced the Government’s thinking, Ms Duncombe said of yesterday’s announcement: “I don’t think much of it.
“They basically promised to give us a referendum so at least some of the stuff could be aired, and I think it’s pretty slack that they’ve chosen not to hear what the public has to say regarding this issue, and instead block out any negative comments. It is very poor.
“They’re treating it as if it’s a small issue. It’s a huge issue that has the potential to impact is on a national scale. We keep ignoring it at our own peril.”
With no oil exploration activities by BPC likely to take place before 2014, a referendum will now not be held before 2015 - and that is assuming the company hits sufficient quantities of ‘black gold’.
Mr Dorsett promised that the Government would implement regulations compatible with international best practices, both from an environmental and health and safety perspective, to govern any oil exploration industry.
But Ms Duncombe yesterday hit back: “They’re negating the fact that exploratory drilling is also detrimental to the environment.
“You’re still going to be creating the noise that goes along with the drilling, and there’s going to be oil seepage without any drilling, whether it’s exploratory or not, as you’re still drilling a hole in the ground.”
Noting that BPC was planning to drill in the Cay Sal area, a location she described as a “pristine environment” and key fishing ground for Bahamians, Ms Duncombe suggested 14,000 oil spills occurred globally every year.
“I’m trying to figure out what’s in place if there’s a problem we have to deal with,” she said.
“I have absolutely zero faith in either the Government, BPC or any other company to deal with a spill if it happens.”
Ms Duncombe also questioned the notion that any oil discovery by BPC would result in lower gas and energy prices for Bahamians. She said oil would first have to be sent out of the Bahamas for refining, meaning costs would still be the same.
Arguing that the Government’s focus on oil exploration was “short-sighted and fossilised thinking”, the environmental activist described as “just madness” the Government seemingly ignoring renewable energy.
“We should be actively seeking companies to build solar farms, wind farms,” she said. “I am not so naive as to believe that we will get rid of oil tomorrow, but at the same time we are making zero impact in terms of getting solar, wind and tidal here.”
Referring to the IDB-financed renewable energy project, and failure to install the devices supplied, Ms Duncombe said: “We’re paying back a loan for equipment that’s not installed.
“It’s absolute lunacy that we’re not taking care of these commitments. We’re paying back a loan and getting nothing for it. Before they start going down the oil route, meet the commitments the Bahamian people are paying for today, and getting no benefits from.”
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