…urges public to visit website or contact Office of Climate Change
The Office of Climate Change (OCC) has noted several recent attempts to mislead the public on the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). There have been efforts by several members of the Multi-Stakeholder Steering Committee (MSSC), including Toshao Yvonne Pearson, Chairperson of the National Toshaos Council, and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) Monitor, Ms Jocelyn Dow, to address the misconceptions about the LCDS. At the commencement of the LCDS process, the MSSC, with support from the IIED, developed a Conceptual Process Framework to guide stakeholder engagement and awareness activities for the LCDS.  The LCDS consultations and awareness activities were conducted in accordance with this Framework and overseen by the MSSC.  The entire process was monitored by the internationally respected and independent IIED.  In their final report on monitoring the LCDS process, the IIED, inter alia, records that: “The Independent Monitoring Team finds that the process of Multi-Stakeholder consultation surrounding Guyana’s LCDS has broadly followed principles derived from international best practice and has met these criteria. It is the opinion of this team that the consultative process, to the extent that its findings inform a revised LCDS, can be considered credible, transparent and inclusive.  The Government’s commitment to transparency and accountability has been commendable during the preliminary consultation process of the LCDS and it is hoped that the openness and inclusivity with which this first phase is proceeding will be strengthened and continued in the ongoing phases of its development and implementation.”

With respect to the mechanism for ‘Opting In’ for the Amerindian communities, this is currently being discussed at the level of the MSSC; and in keeping with the approach of the LCDS, will be publicly available and presented to communities for consideration and discussion.
All documents pertaining to the LCDS are posted on the LCDS website www.lcds.gov.gy, including the Conceptual Process framework, reports from all LCDS consultations and awareness sessions, the report of the IIED monitors and the minutes of all MSSC meetings.  The OCC therefore wishes to urge the public to visit the LCDS website or alternatively to make contact with the Office of Climate Change for information and to make your inputs to the LCDS.
Office of Climate Change Office of the President