GUYANA has met all the conditions for last year to qualify for US$30M under its historic climate change agreement with Norway, President Bharrat Jagdeo reported yesterday.

He said the only outstanding issue is the trust fund mechanism through which the money will be disbursed and Guyana hopes to conclude discussions on this with Norway and the World Bank by next month.

He said the Norway support will be reflected in this year’s annual national budget.

The agreement with Norway provides Guyana with an initial payment of US$30M into Guyana’s REDD+ (Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) development fund and Norway will offer further investment in the country of up to US$250M if this initial investment succeeds in reducing emissions and tackling poverty as expected.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed at Fairview Village in the Rupununi in November by President Jagdeo and Norway’s Minister of Environment and International Development, Erik Solheim.

But while the Norway agreement is well under way, Guyana is unhappy that pledges by developed countries to a US$10 billion fund for countries more vulnerable to the catastrophic impact of climate change have not yet materialised.

“We are very unhappy that of the US$10 billion pledged, very little has actually been delivered so far”, he said, noting that the United Nations has called on the countries that made the pledges to stump up the money.

At a press conference at the Office of the President complex yesterday, Mr. Jagdeo noted that attempts are being made to resuscitate the momentum on global climate change after the UN summit last month in Copenhagen, Denmark failed to reach binding agreement on a new international accord.

He said Guyana has been asked to participate in some global efforts to resuscitate the momentum behind forests and financing in particular.

Despite setbacks at the chaotic and mismanaged Copenhagen summit, Guyana managed to advance its internationally-acclaimed LCDS model, President Jagdeo reported last month.

“We are ahead of the game because of our agreement with Norway”, he told reporters here after returning from the summit.

“At least we have secured some money; other countries have not yet secured anything and we have the possibility, at least over the next three years, to get some more money from the US$10 billion per annum” agreed for vulnerable countries, Mr. Jagdeo said.

He pointed out that the US$10 bln a year pledged for vulnerable countries up to 2012 would allow supplemental financing that would compensate Guyana to the true value of the agreement with Norway.

This country can get another US$40M a year with this agreement and more is likely, he said, adding, “That’s extremely positive for Guyana”.

He stressed that the lack of progress in Copenhagen will not stop the LCDS from moving forward because the LCDS is a development strategy and that has to be advanced.