A motion welcoming the commitment to public consultations, including parliamentary parties, to contribute to the finalisation of the draft Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) was on Thursday presented to the National Assembly. The motion tabled by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds calls for the House to recognise the pioneering nature of Guyana’s LCDS.

It also calls for the endorsement of the country’s advocacy in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process for a new post 2012 agreement that includes Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD), avoided deforestation and sustainable forest management to be decided in Copenhagen in December, 2009, and support for its use at international fora, including the UNFCCC conference of parties in Copenhagen.

The motion pointed out that the Fourth Assessment Report of the Inter Governmental Panel on Climate Change has firmly established that concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is rising exponentially, leading to alarming levels of global warming and sea level rise.

The cause of these phenomena, the two page document stated, is mainly anthropogenic.

If left unchecked, the motion explained, the effects of climate change can lead to marine inundation of costal low lying areas, flooding from excessive rainfall, droughts, disruption of agriculture, food shortages, disease, population displacement and extinction of species.

It said several studies on the economics of climate change and its impact have concluded that the cost of inaction will in the long-term exceed the level of resources currently required for addressing these impacts.

The Conference of Parties in Copenhagen 2009, the document underlined, must reach an agreement that entails deep cuts in emissions, bold action on climate mitigation, and clear support for adoption measures.

“Twenty per cent of all green house gases results from deforestation and degradation. A recent study by the internationally reputable Mc Kinsey Company has demonstrated that avoided deforestation represents a least cost solution for carbon abatement, lower than hybrid cars or wind power,” the motion stated.

It said studies and analyses have confirmed that Guyana’s forests could be deployed as mitigation against the adverse effects of climate change without either sacrificing its sovereignty or development prospects.

“Guyana stands at the threshold of a great global opportunity to show the world how rainforest countries can use their rainforests to mitigate climate change, and at the same time use it as the basis for a financial flow to provide adequate resources to pursue a low carbon development path with adaptation, mitigation and technology transfer as key elements,” the motion underscored.

Government has drafted an LCDS which is currently being discussed in a series of countrywide consultations.