The West Indies Oil Company (WIOC) will be forced to change its business model immediately or risk imminent collapse. On the backdrop of the company quadrupling its LPG storage capacity last Thursday, Prime Minister Gaston Browne indicated to the multi-million dollar company that the world is moving away from the use of the fossil fuels.
“Our reliance on fossil fuels will be reduced in the next 30 years,” Browne said.
“We’re trying, as a government, to transition to green energy applications. That, in itself, represents a risk for West Indies Oil Company.”
Antigua and Barbuda, along with more than 70 other countries, committed to net zero carbon emissions by 2050 in accordance with the Paris Climate Change agreement.
The International Development Finance Club (IDFC) is one of many donor agencies pledging funding to Small Island Developing States (SIDS) as of 2020. The IDFC alone has pledged to mobilise US $1 trillion in clean energy funding by 2025.
Secretary General of the United Nations, António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres recently indicated that, “developed countries must fulfill their commitment to provide $100 billion a year from public and private sources by 2020 for mitigation and adaptation in developing countries.”