NASSAU – The Bahamas government says it will erect microgrids on Abaco as the country continues the rehabilitation exercise following the passage of Hurricane Dorian last September that left damage estimated at US$3.4 billion.
Speaking on the United States television programme 60 Minutes aired on the CBS network on Sunday night, Minnis stressed the urgency of implementing solar power across the archipelago to better recover from hurricanes that had become much more intensified due to the effects of climate change.
He told the programme that The Bahamas does not contribute to climate change as much as First World countries do, recalling that in his address to the United Nations last year, he raised the issue.
“First World nations, and this is what I said at the UN [United Nations], I said First World nations make the greatest contribution to climate change. They are the ones responsible for the changes that we see, the increase in velocity and ferocity of the hurricanes and the different, and the changes, typhoons that we see today. But we’re the innocent victim; we’re the ones that are being impacted by what you’ve created.”
Asked on the programme about the importance of the country changing to renewable energy, Minnis said: “It is because even though our contribution to climate change is minimal, it’s minuscule, to compare with First World nations, but we still have a responsibility.”
When Hurricane Dorian, a Category 5 storm, swept through the archipelago last September, killing more than 70 people, the islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama were severely affected with many areas on Abaco still without power six months later. (CMC)
