–Norway, Wildlife Conservation Society hail Guyana’s pioneering, milestone carbon credit achievement
–say this could help Guyana contribute to meeting global climate goals, pursue economic security and prosperity for all Guyanese

NORWEGIAN Minister of Climate and Environment, Espen Barth-Eide, on Monday, expressed Norway’s admiration for Guyana’s “historic breakthrough” in being the first country in the world to get issued carbon credits under the high-integrity carbon standard Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART).

“I congratulate Guyana on being the first country to issue forest carbon credits certified by ART, paving the way for many others to come. This marks a breakthrough for the emergence of a high-quality global carbon market to protect tropical forests,” Barth-Eide said.

According to a statement on Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI), a historic milestone was met on December 1, when it was announced that Guyana was the first country to get issued carbon credits under the new high-integrity carbon standard ART.

Guyana was issued 33.47 million forest carbon credits for preventing and reducing deforestation and forest degradation in the period 2016-2020. The country has since been able to sell 30 per cent of its carbon credits to Hess Corporation for a minimum of US$750 million.

The credits have been verified by a third-party against ART’s robust environmental and social requirements. The announcement marks an important step for how tropical forest countries can sell high-integrity carbon credits for preventing and reducing deforestation and forest degradation.

“I congratulate Guyana on being the first country to issue forest carbon credits certified by ART, paving the way for many others to come. This marks a breakthrough for the emergence of a high-quality global carbon market to protect tropical forests,” Barth-Eide related.

Guyana is the first country to conclude the ART process out of 15 jurisdictions that have so far entered the ART pipeline, the NICFI statement said.

GUYANA’S LONG-TERM VISION ACHIEVED
Norway and Guyana have collaborated on green development and forest conservation in Guyana since 2009.

In this period, Guyana has successfully maintained one of the world’s lowest deforestation rates. Norway’s support to Guyana has added up to approximately US$220 mill (NOK 1.5 billion at the time) in total for maintaining its low deforestation rate.

The funding, according to the NICFI statement, has provided support to Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), and the agreement was the first international commitment of financial support to the strategy, including activities such as the development of solar energy, climate adaptation, and strengthening Indigenous Peoples rights.

“It is great to see Guyana fulfilling its vision from 2009, to mobilise international private capital in support of its Low Carbon Development Strategy. Norway is proud to have been a partner of Guyana in this journey,” Barth-Eide said.

Guyana’s more than 18 million hectares of rainforests (almost one and a half times the area of England) are estimated to store approximately 20 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. Following the LCDS 2030, Guyana aims to maintain 99.5 per cent of its forests.

“A considerable portion of the world’s remaining tropical forests are found in countries like Guyana, with high forest covers and historically low deforestation rates (HFLD), collectively known as “HFLD-countries”,” Norway said.

While forest carbon market and climate finance schemes historically have tended to focus on areas that have reduced high levels of deforestation this is now starting to change with the first ART credits issued to Guyana.

The multi-year purchase agreement with Hess Corporation stipulates that there is significant demand from the private sector to purchase high-integrity forest carbon credits from HFLD-countries such as Guyana.

DEDICATED AND STRATEGIC
“Guyana has demonstrated that it is indeed possible to protect rainforest over time. This is the result of dedicated, strategic work over more than a decade,” Barth-Eide related.

The revenues received by Guyana under the new agreement with Hess Corporation will finance Guyana’s LCDS 2030 plan, distributed according to a benefits-sharing mechanism, and will be used towards activities including renewable energy, village-based job creation and land titling, climate adaptation, and enhancing trade and market development for sustainable forestry and agriculture products.

Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Vice President for Global Conservation, Joe Walston, said: “This is huge. Guyana’s issuance of the world’s first market-oriented jurisdictional REDD+ credits through the ART TREES standard is a testament to its commitment to pursuing equitable economic development through the safeguarding its forests. We must prioritise global support for countries and jurisdictions that follow this approach.”

The WCS, in a statement, also congratulated Guyana on the issuance of the world’s first credits from the REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard (TREES). These credits also represent the first time that a jurisdiction with high forest cover and low rates of deforestation, also known as High Forest Low Deforestation (HFLD), has the potential to access carbon market finance at scale.

Guyana is one of the most forested countries in the world, with around 85 per cent of the country covered by vast expanses of high integrity or intact forests. Guyana’s credits are the culmination of over a decade of commitments and collaborative efforts to pursue a Low Carbon Development Strategy through incentives from jurisdictional REDD+.

According to WCS, the TREES credits, independently validated and verified against the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) TREES standard and conforming with rigorous environmental and social safeguards, can help enable Guyana to strengthen stewardship of its forests and contribute to meeting global climate goals while pursuing economic security and prosperity for all Guyanese.