MINISTER of Governance Raphael Trotman yesterday received a visit from French diplomat Jean Mendelson, who is currently on a world tour to promote awareness on climate change.The diplomat was accompanied by French Ambassador to Guyana and Suriname, Michel Prom and Melvin Houwen, his sworn translator.

Mendelson, who currently serves as a Goodwill Ambassador of the French Republic for Climate Change, for Latin America and the Caribbean, visited Minister Trotman as part of the preparations for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP21 which will be held in Paris, France later this year.

The international climate conference will be held at the Le Bourget site from November 30 to December 11, 2015. This will be the 21st annual session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 11th session of the Meeting of the Parties (CMP 11) to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.
According to Ambassador Mendelson, the visit was organised out of the need to understand the concerns related to climate change internationally and national situations. Additionally, the meetings are intended to focus on country preparedness for the Conference, expectations on the 2015 Agreement and the identification of the points of convergence between the countries of the region, especially in the area of the transfer of finance and technology.

He also underscored the need for the timely submission of country contributions to the Conference.

As he welcomed the Ambassador to Guyana, Minister Trotman related that the country was in the process of finalising its contribution, while giving the assurance that the final draft will be submitted by October 1, 2015.

Last week, the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment held its National Stakeholders Consultation in an effort to formulate the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) on Climate Change from Guyana, which is expected to be presented at the Conference.

INDCs will be foundational for the Paris climate agreement, demonstrating countries’ intent to decarbonise their economies and invest in resilience.

Declaring that “we may be small in population but we are large in our forest resources,” Minister Trotman said Guyana is prepared to represent its interest at the Climate Change Conference in December. He also signaled the Government’s willingness to explore the areas of transfer of finance and technology and to take advantage of any such opportunities which can be beneficial to the country. (GINA)