— as President Ali arrives in Scotland for COP26

AFTER departing the country on Saturday, President Dr. Irfaan Ali has arrived in Scotland to participate in the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP) 26. Landing in Glasgow, President Ali was received by a representative of the Queen.

A statement from the Office of the President indicated that while in Scotland, the Head of State will have a packed agenda. “He is expected to deliver several addresses at key high-level climate summits, participate in several international round-table discussions and participate in bilateral meetings with other Heads of State and government officials,” the statement said.

Already, the Guyanese Head of State has met and engaged with Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness; St Lucia’s Prime Minister, Phillip J Pierre and The Bahamas’ Prime Minister Philip Davis.

Just before his departure, President Ali told a virtual press conference that heading into the forum, Guyana will be well-armed with a number of realistic and achievable targets, geared at repositioning the country to become a global powerhouse and net carbon sink.

“We have to communicate targets that are achievable and realistic, and that is what we’ll be doing. And these targets and ambitions will be in keeping with our energy strategy and programming,” Dr. Irfaan Ali told reporters.

More than just its goals, the Head of State said that his extensive bilateral engagements over the past few months were premised on ensuring that countries, particularly developing nations in Latin America and the Caribbean, have a similar COP26 agenda.

Already, Dr. Ali said that Guyana has received positive commitments from a number of countries and global organisations that will be raising similar issues at COP26. “… and that is why these bilateral engagements were so important.”

With Guyana already being a carbon sink, Dr. Ali said that his presentation will address issues of accessibility to financing for mitigation and adaptation for Small Island Developing States, and will pursue initiatives to strengthen and expand the market for the sale of carbon credits. “… and we intend to renew our call for the implementation of the commitment made to the fulfilment of the 100 billion dollars pledge,” Dr. Ali noted.

ALIGN PERFECTLY
He said that Guyana’s representation at COP26 will align perfectly with the national Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), which has since been revised to cater to the burgeoning oil and gas sector, and encompasses the drive for renewable energy.

“It is very important that we outline a realistic and achievable ambition [sic] target. We cannot go and criticise countries that are not sticking to the commitment and then we make targets that cannot be achieved,” President Ali noted.

Previously, under the David Granger-led Government, Guyana appeared before the United Nations boldly pledging to achieve 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025. However, the proposal was not accompanied by any plausible project or implementation strategy.

As a result, when Guyana appears at COP26, the Ali-led Government will be forced to admit the impossibility of the pledge made by the then A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Government.

Before COP26 began, Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo spearheaded a national stakeholder consultation aimed at updating Guyana’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which basically outlines the country’s response to climate change, and how it intends to achieve the targets set out in the Paris Agreement, as adopted by 196 countries during COP21, hosted in Paris in December 2015.

The updated NDCs, according to Dr. Jagdeo, are an indication that Guyana will be “lowering its ambitions” at a time when most countries are aiming to, realistically, do better.

President Ali has been passionate about mitigating the effects of climate change and about helping not just Guyana, but other nations, including Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

Last week, the President launched the national consultation process for Guyana’s expanded Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030, which will be used to guide the country’s future developments while prioritising climate sustainability and resilience. The curtain will come down on COP26 on November 12.