Papua New Guinea PM James Marape says country is carbon negative

Oil and gas companies investing in Papua New Guinea are ‘green businesses’, according to the country’s Prime Minister James Marape.

Oil and gas companies investing in Papua New Guinea are “green businesses”, according to the country’s Prime Minister James Marape, who says those with larger carbon footprints need to take the lead on decarbonisation.

Speaking at the PNG Chamber of Resources and Energy Conference in Sydney, Mr Marape said Australia’s nearest neighbour would always be a gas and oil producing nation and that companies in the country’s economy were investing in a carbon-negative economy, due to the fact that 70 per cent of its 462,840sq km of land was forested.

Mr Marape said PNG was in the oil and gas business and that while he was committed to the upkeep of the planet, other nations should not prevent it from becoming affluent.

“My country is in the oil and gas business,” he said.

“When we belong to one planet, we must be committed to the upkeep of the planet, and my commitment is the same.

“Those who have big carbon footprints must take the lead. And most of them are now living an affluent life.

“You cannot live an affluent life at the expense of those of us who want to imagine. We must all grow together.”

He stressed that businesses investing in PNG were investing in a carbon-negative country.

“Right now, together, those of you operating companies in my country and my people and government, our carbon footprint is under 10 million metric tonnes of CO2,” he said.

“Our absorption capacity is over 100 million metric tonnes and so we are by far carbon-negative.”

Mr Marape said PNG is a green country and that businesses who invested in the country would find it advantageous in the push for decarbonisation.

“We will have a green label for all of you operating in my country. You work in PNG, you’re a green company. You’re have a product in PNG, you’re a green product,” he said.

“This is the advantage, competitive advantage we bring that other nations do not get to.”

He added that PNG had no intention of pursuing any security deals with China with its relationship purely an economic one and security will always come from its traditional partners such as Australia and the US.

“I told Chinese investors in Beijing that your investment in PNG is safe because I am getting the best security assistance that your company can have,” he said.

“We keep them in the space of economy and we work with our traditional security partners in the space of security.”