Cabinet endorses submission of proposed reference level for UNFCCC
Dr. Roger Luncheon yesterday at the press briefing
Dr. Roger Luncheon yesterday at the press briefing

CABINET on Tuesday last endorsed Guyana’s submission of its proposed reference level for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) initiative known as the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+). This was according to Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, during his weekly press briefing at the Office of the President yesterday.
The REDD+ is an effort to create financial value for the carbon stored in forests. It offers financial incentives for developing countries to reduce emissions from forested lands and invest in low-carbon paths to sustainable development.
Speaking at the press briefing Dr. Luncheon noted that “Guyana is one of the REDD+ countries with large forests and a uniquely extremely low deforestation rate.”
Dr. Luncheon stated that the comparison between Guyana’s deforestation rate and global deforestation rates have been the study through reference levels of progress in countries in meeting global goals on forest carbon sequestration, essentially carbon services provided by forests.
He added that there is a compensatory mechanism for those countries whose forest carbon sequestration services weren’t being compensated, and that has been the basis or the underpinning of the Guyana-Norway Agreement.
LCDs
He went on to say that the transformative Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDs) which was inaugurated in former President Jagdeo’s term (2006-2011) specifically in 2009 has seen a reference level which was established in the said year, “That over the years the current Guyana- Norway Agreement has indeed allowed us to have a more mature grasp of how adequately Guyana is being compensated for it’s extremely low and persistently slow rate of deforestation.”
Dr. Luncheon further stated that the reference level, Guyana is proposing is indeed a contribution to the International/Global measure that does not exist currently.
“But the UNFCCC has been spearheading the move among the REDD+ countries in arriving at a global measure and of course maybe the only or one of the few places where there exists a commercial engagement between the Government of Guyana and the Kingdom of Norway concerning this reference level and commercialising the forest/carbon services provided by the REDD+ countries” said Dr. Luncheon.
BENEFITS OF PROPOSALS
He added that upon submission of the proposal which was made to the UNFCCC, an explanation by the project management officer head of the UNFCC and the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC)’s head to cabinet members.
After which he noted that they both on Tuesday provided the guarantees and the assurances that the reference level proposals that Guyana has submitted indeed were those most likely to provide Guyana with the most financially feasible and sound outcome of any continuation of compensatory mechanisms for our deforestation rate.
In closing, Dr. Luncheon stated that “The submission of the proposal is revisable and as we continue working on improving its presentation and also UNFCCC would be conducting its review of Guyana’s submission in 2015.”

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