President Bharrat Jagdeo hosted a meeting on Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) with ranks and officers of the Guyana Defence Force at Camp Ayanganna on Thursday.

Jagdeo told the meeting that water and food will become scare resources as the world copes with climate change. According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release he said it is estimated that 85% of the world will suffer from water shortages by 2030. Although water is one of the most abundant resources in the world, much of it, contained in the oceans, is unsuitable from human consumption and the fresh water resources are shrinking.

Food security will also be threatened with the demand expected to double within the next 20 years as a result of economic development worldwide and population growth. He said too without action the temperature is expected to rise by as much as 5°C and predictions that were given for 2020 are actually happening now.

To combat these challenges Jagdeo said renewable energy sources must be employed now. He advocated the use of hydropower and wind over fossil fuels and by increasing energy efficiency by retrofitting buildings, mandating higher fuel economies for vehicles and using LED (light emitting diodes) lights over incandescent bulbs. The president also said all these will create a greater impact if used in addition to reducing deforestation which is the basis of the LCDS.

Jagdeo pointed out key components of the LCDS while reminding his audience that it is a development document not an environmental manifesto and is focused on employing Guyana’s vast rainforests and the carbon services they provide, to secure funding on the international carbon markets to bolster government’s development efforts.