Manning’s Budget the ‘greenest’ ever

THE national drive towards the use of unleaded fuel represents one of the major initiatives undertaken by the Manning administration for a greener, healthier environment, according to Environ-ment Minister Rennie Dumas at the opening ceremony of CARICOM’s Clean Develop-ment Mechanism Workshop at Petrotrin’s Learning Cen-tre, Pointe-a-Pierre, yesterday.

Dumas, who boasted that the 2003-2004 Budget was the “greenest” ever presented, said that the move represented part of Government’s response to certain sections of the national community expressing “serious concerns and reservations” about TT’s assault on greenhouse gas reduction. “This move away from leaded fuel, with its continuing potential impact on the environment and on the population, especially the younger part of the population, is especially important as we recognise our vulnerability as a small island archipelago in terms of global warning,” he said. Dumas said, however, that the move towards leaded fuel also had a “cost” factor attached to the initiative. “As we make one change, it is at a cost. Therefore, it has an impact that must be passed on,” he said. He added that some $50 million had also been allocated to the “re-greening” of the twin-island State as part of Government’s “ten year programme” to improve the nation’s air and environmental quality.

Also addressing the opening ceremony was Petrotrin’s executive chairman, Malcolm Jones, who said that the State-owned oil company recognised the “crucial need to maintain, and in some areas, extend capacity in the fields of climate science, impacts and adaptation. “Through our Health Safety and Environment department, Petrotrin has conducted an inventory to determine the quantities of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere from all of our operations including exploration, production, refinery and marketing and Trinmar,” he said. Jones also said that “appropriate responses” to sea level rise and its impact on wetlands such as the Godineau, Nariva, Aripero and Los Blanquizales, were also being closely monitored by the company. “We understand the role of these sensitive areas in our ecosystem and will work together with the EMA to assess the vulnerability of these sensitive coastal resources to sea level rise,” Jones said. The opening ceremony was chaired by Petrotrin’s Health, Safety and Environment manager, Kelvin Ramnath and included representatives from the Canadian Industrial Development Agency.