Guyana’s climate change advocacy for compensation for countries that are preserving their standing forests is about to bear fruit with the imminent sealing of a deal with Norway which was initiated by President Bharrat Jagdeo earlier this year.

This flies sharply in the face of some who have been speaking derogatorily about the sterling efforts of President Jagdeo on the climate change front.

The President’s advocacy on this global issue undoubtedly has caught the attention of many countries of both the developing and developed world and has heightened discussion and debate on the international arena, thereby significantly increasing awareness across the globe. And therefore this recent development is quite encouraging and heartening.

Ambassador Hans Brattskar, Director of Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative who headed a team here and met President Bharrat Jagdeo and top administration officials for talks on the plan spoke in glowing terms of Guyana’s preservation of its forests.

“But we see Guyana as an important country with a significant forest cover and the people and a government that is very much committed to preserving the forest and to making use out of it in a sustainable manner and that is important for us,” he declared, adding a very pertinent point we have one global climate, we all share that and we have to work together to find a solution. Norway shares with Guyana the goal of including reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation of forests in developing countries in a new climate regime.”

Mr. Brattskar also acknowledged that President Jagdeo has been a leading voice in the international lobby to ensure avoided deforestation and forest degradation is included in the solution to the international climate crisis under a new climate regime, adding “we support that kind of thinking.”

Under the agreement Norway is prepared to provide performance-based, substantial and sustained compensation for the progress Guyana makes in limiting emissions from deforestation at low levels and further decreasing forest degradation. In cooperation with Guyana and its multilateral partners, this will include contributing to the development and implementation of the necessary strategies and reforms, capacity building, and developing, funding and implementing suitable low-carbon and adaptation investments.

This is a significant development which is in unison with what President Jagdeo has been championing on the international arena.

Another significant development on the climate change issue is the disclosure that Guyana will soon benefit from US$85,000, through United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), to develop and implement a hydro-chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) phase-out management plan.

From the above developments, contrary to what some may feel, it is evident that small developing countries could make an impact on the international front and even influence the direction and policies which are adopted with respect to issues of global importance. However, this can only be achieved by having visionary, imaginative and articulate leadership at the governmental level, and in this regard president Jagdeo has demonstrated such qualities.

The climate change issue is one of vital importance to the future of this planet and therefore it has to be addressed with the required urgency and seriousness it deserves and Guyana can be proud the very active and visible role it has been playing in this regard.

The present state of the global environment is not a healthy one and hangs in a delicate balance. Scientific experts have noted: “The effects of global warming are of concern both for the environment and human life. Scenarios studied by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predict that global warming will continue and get worse much faster than was expected even in their last report. Research by NOAA indicate that the effects of global warming are already irreversible. The IPCC reports attribute many specific natural phenomena to human causes. The expected long range effects of recent climate change may already be observed. Rising sea levels, glacier retreat, Arctic shrinkage, and altered patterns of agriculture are cited as direct consequences of human activities. Predictions for secondary and regional effects include extreme weather events, an expansion of tropical diseases, changes in the timing of seasonal patterns in ecosystems, and drastic economic impact. Concerns have led to political activism advocating proposals to mitigate, or adapt to it. Geoengineering is a further potential response, which could potentially reverse some effects that may otherwise be irreversible.

It is notable that many of the effects of global warming are non-linear in nature, with potential for dramatic positive feedback effects. This means that the climate may enter a critical state where small changes can trigger runaway or abrupt climate change. Geoengineering has been suggested as a means of interrupting or reversing these effects. A notable example of a ‘runaway’ effect is the release of methane from clathrates (known as the clathrate gun effect)”. (Source Wikipeda)