The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

An environmental activist yesterday accused slams the Government of hypocrisy for its stance on oil exploration ahead of the upcoming global climate change summit.

Joseph Darville, Save The Bays’ chairman, told Tribune Business he is ready to for fresh legal battles with the Government and Challenger Energy Group PLPC (formerly Bahamas Petroleum Company) if the Davis administration decides to renew its four licence areas for a fresh term.

He argued that such an action would be “hypocritical” given the issues to be discussed at the COP26 meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, where world leaders, including Prime Minister Philip Davis, are expected to discuss actions to mitigate climate change.

The Bahamas is one of the world’s most vulnerable nations to climate change and sea level rise. Hurricanes are becoming more powerful and frequent as a result, with a United Nations (UN) report unveiled in August warning that the world will become 1.5 degrees warmer in the next 20 years if drastic action is not taken to curb the amount of carbon dioxide emissions.

Mr Darville said: “I can say this. If our Prime Minister and our delegation are going to COP26 in Scotland, and they go with any intention of drilling for oil in the archipelagic waters of The Bahamas, they are betraying the very things that they’re talking about. And that is that we must step up our efforts to deal with matters related to climate change and sea level rise.

“So it would be a total contradiction even to consider the possibility of drilling for oil, when it is the oil that is creating the havoc in the world today. There is no way The Bahamas can do that without a catastrophic accident some time in the future. “

Asking about the message the Davis administration would be sending if they make any move to renew Challenger Energy Group’s licences, Mr Darville said: “It would be totally contrary if we want funding from the developed nations, which have created the havoc that we are now facing. We have to show them that we are not going to go down the same route that they went and create even more havoc for ourselves in The Bahamas.”

He challenged the Prime Minister to instead seek advice from environmental groups about the possibility of oil spills, and what it would cost The Bahamas in terms of tourism and marine resources.

Mr Darville added: “BPC have been saying they are going to renew their licences, and they have resurrected that intention based upon the fact that it was the previous administration who gave them the open door to come in and do the exploration to begin with. So they probably feel now that they have another inroad.

“I don’t think they should be so foolhardy to think that the population of The Bahamas is going to welcome them, particularly in light of what is happening with oil spills around the world from California to right here in Grand Bahama, and also in other Caribbean islands.

“We are ready to take the Challenger Group back to court. You don’t have to worry about that because we know the route that we have to follow to get all of the information that we need, and if they don’t follow all of the regulations in terms of how these things are decided, and whose permission is given and how the permission is given, we will pursue the matter to the n’th degree.”