St. Vincent and the Grenadines has a comparative advantage in Carbon Trading and it is pre-positioned to earn millions of dollars in this new phenomenon - Carbon Trading Strategy. The world conference on climate change, which was held recently in Indonesia has recognised that Carbon emissions, if not reduced on a global basis, will cause global warming and the sea levels will rise with severe and substantial damage following. Long-term periods of drought, unusual heavy rains and flood will negatively affect agricultural output and is a serious threat to world food security.

The Kyoto protocol provides for Carbon emissions reductions to be traded between developing and developed countries. The industrialised countries that wish to maintain these levels of productions and relatively high levels of carbon emissions can trade carbon emissions with countries such as SVG.

Presently, SVG is recognised as having low carbon emissions. Not having an international airport is a blessing to SVG for clean, sustainable development under the Kyoto protocol. The incompetent ULP regime’s Argyle Airport project would however disqualify SVG from accessing the benefits of the Kyoto protocol, as international aircrafts operating in and out of Argyle will dump large amounts of carbon emissions into the atmosphere over SVG. This threatens our long-term health, longevity, marine life and our agricultural output. Economically, we would be worse-off, because we would have to import more foods and have to endure poor health as a result.

The incompetent ULP regime’s leadership is out of touch with twenty-first century economic thinking. To build an international airport at Argyle in this day and age, which offers no financial, no economic and no environmental benefits to our country, but produces great levels of pollution which will negatively impact upon our health, our agricultural and fisheries output, is an act of political and economic recklessness and a gross misinterpretation of the needed vision required to advance the country.

The SVG Green Party is saying that the other Caribbean countries with international airports would not be qualified for Carbon Trading, as their international aircrafts emissions would exclude them. By virtue of our Green orientation and Green policies, SVG Green Party is clearly better positioned to manage the SVG economy with sustainable clean development to the benefit of present and future generations of Vincentians. Under the ULP regime’s reckless and blind economic policies, our economy will get weaker and weaker, and will facilitate a threshold of dependency and more violent crime. This trend could lead to making us slaves in our own backyard.

We are calling on all Vincentians and fellow citizens to sit up and take note of the current situation, and the negative direction in which our country is diving. The SVG Green Party thinks positively, looks forward and is economically intelligent. We are highly cognizant of the economic and social issues facing our land and believe that all Vincentians and fellow citizens should live in a clean, secure environment. The choice is in your hands. The continued support for the ULP regime is support for economic recklessness. Our country must change and move forward.