A video of Guyanese President Mohamed Irfaan Ali berating a BBC reporter for trying to lecture him on climate change went viral this week.
In an interview with BBC journalist Stephen Thacker, world leaders rejected the reporter’s insinuations that their countries contribute to climate change by allowing oil drilling off their coasts.
When Mr. Sukkur implied that Guyana was wrong to do what it did and asked if its leaders had the “right” to train, an animated President Ali cut him off by raising his hand, saying, “That’s… “Do I give you the right to lecture?” he asked. What about climate change? ”
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Guyana’s President Mohamed Irfaan Ali recently criticized a BBC reporter who tried to lecture him on climate change. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
exchange Mr. Sukkur began by asking Mr. Ali about Guyana’s carbon dioxide emission rates from mining fossil fuels along its coast.
“Let’s look at the big picture of what’s going on here,” he began. “Over the next 10 to 20 years, $150 billion worth of oil and gas is expected to be extracted off our coasts. These are extraordinary numbers.”
Thacker went on to criticize, saying, “But think about it from a practical point of view. According to many experts, more than 2 billion tons of carbon emissions originate from the ocean floor and from our reserves and are released into the atmosphere. It means that,” he said.
When a reporter began asking the head of state if he had attended the recent international climate conference, the president raised his hand and said, “Let me stop there. Let me stop there.”
The president turned the tables on reporters, defending his country’s environmental record and later accusing Western countries of harming the environment.
“Did you know that Guyana has an eternal forest the size of England and Scotland combined? A forest that stores 19.5 gigatonnes of carbon, a forest that we keep alive, a forest that we keep alive. is.”
The interview became even more controversial, with the reporter firing back: “Does that give you the right to emit all this carbon dioxide?”
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President Ali has dismissed suggestions that his country is having a negative impact on the environment, claiming Guyana has the lowest rate of deforestation in the world. (Adobe Stock)
Ali had nothing and cut the football off again. “Does that give you the right to lecture us on climate change? I’m going to lecture you on climate change,” he declared.
Ali continued. “Because we keep this forest alive, we store 19.5 gigatonnes of carbon, you enjoy it, the world enjoys it, we keep it alive, we keep it invisible, we don’t pay for it, we don’t value it, we don’t see it. Because of what we have done. What the people of Guyana have continued to live on is worth it.”
Still, the leader wasn’t finished. He accused Western countries of hypocrisy on environmental issues after claiming the county had “the lowest rate of deforestation in the world” and that drilling would result in “net zero” emissions.
Despite Mr. Thacker’s attempts to interject, Mr. Ali continued to speak, saying, “I’m not done yet, because this is the hypocrisy that exists in the world. We have lost 65 percent of our biodiversity. “We have protected biodiversity. Do you value it? Are you ready to pay the price? When will developed countries pay the price?” Are you going to pay for it? Or is it going to go into the pockets of developed countries?”
The President continued to bombard the BBC officials with questions, saying, “Are you in the pockets of the people who destroyed the environment? Are you in the pockets of the people who destroyed the environment? Are you and your system responsible for destroying the environment through the industrial revolution? And are you still in the pockets of those who destroy the environment?” “Are you lecturing us? Are you in their pockets? Are you taking money from them?” Is that so?”
The clip ended with Mr. Thacker trying to defuse the exchange by saying, “Okay, okay, Mr. President.”
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