Adaptation to climate change will cost Guyana billions

Stabroek News (Guyana): Guyana would have to spend billions of US dollars on adaptation to climate change as rising sea levels and adverse weather patterns could lay waste to fertile lands agricultural lands, particularly on the coastland, President Bharrat Jagdeo said.

Speaking on a number of issues including climate change, food prices, fuel prices and the global trading environment and their impact on the local scene at the opening of the PPP 29th Congress at the Diamond Secondary School yesterday, Jagdeo shied away from referring to developments under the PPP/C which he felt had been covered by the PPP General Secretary Donald Ramotar and former President Janet Jagan in their addresses. He nevertheless engaged in his usual bashing of sections of the media over their coverage of the government, more particularly the Stabroek News and the Kaieteur News.

Jagdeo said that in protecting the coast from the Atlantic Ocean the government had had to spend recently US$6.4 million to build one kilometre of concrete sea defences and US$4.4 million to build with the riff-raff design. The country, he said, needed to fortify 360 kilometres of sea defences an the sums already spent on one kilometer would give an idea of how much money was needed for the country’s infrastructure….

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