TO push for a practical market mechanism, Guyana has advocated, since 2009, in the first Low Carbon Development Strategy, that a market-based mechanism represented the next stage of Guyana’s work on climate finance.

This ambition has seen steady movement over the years, including the level of the United Nations. One example of this is Guyana joining forces with other nations with forests and the world community in 2021 at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP26 conference in Glasgow.

At that conference, steps were accelerated to operationalise the Paris Climate Agreement, which addresses markets and market systems rules.

The guidelines of the UNFCCC and related international accords are anticipated to serve as the foundation for the long-term viability of forest carbon markets.

Because of the work that was done on a global scale and the ongoing functioning of Guyana’s Monitoring Reporting and Verification System (MRVS) for Forest Carbon for more than ten years, Guyana was able to move on to the vision that was outlined in 2009, which charted the path from a bilateral mechanism, to a second phase that embodies a market-based structure for forest carbon.

In 2022, Guyana’s scale of forest climate services was organised around voluntary premium markets involving private and global public sector financing.

With independent verification of the quality of those credits and their adherence to UNFCCC requirements for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD+), Guyana has produced credits to be marketed in the voluntary carbon market platforms.

Those verification regulations included a set of social and rights-based safeguards known as the Cancun Safeguards as well as requirements based on research.

To benefit from the opportunity, Guyana has implemented a five-step policy that is mentioned below:

– Confirm Guyana’s objectives: determine what a market mechanism needs to provide to be valuable for Guyana and the world (LCDS 2030).

– Select a Standard: Determine whether a global carbon market standard is sufficiently aligned with Guyana’s objectives.

– Engage with the chosen market standard: start the process of generating certified credits.

– Sell Guyana’s credits to generate revenue for the LCDS 2030.

– Ensure equitable revenue sharing: develop a revenue and benefit sharing mechanism to ensure that all revenues are invested in priorities identified through the national consultation on LCDS 2030, with forest based communities. A major focus of the national consultation on the draft LCDS involved receiving input and ideas from communities, individuals, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders.

Guyana has also proposed a forest carbon mechanism with four incentive creation modules. They are: Conserve carbon—to recognise the value that standing forests provide to the world by storing carbon sequestered over hundreds of years, with Guyana accounting for 19.5 gigatonnes of stored carbon.

Remove Carbon: – to recognise the value that standing forests continue to provide by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere; Guyana’s forests remove about 154 million tons of CO2 every year, about the same as annual greenhouse gas emissions from Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark combined
Reduce Deforestation: to incentivize reducing deforestation, despite the fact that deforestation in Guyana is already the lowest, or close to it, in the world.

Restore Forests: to incentivize restoring forests where deforestation has already taken place; in Guyana’s case, there are 200,000 hectares where this could happen as a priority

The Government of Guyana has evaluated the prospective market standards aligned with Guyana’s goals.

The available standards that were evaluated made it evident that numerous small-scale, project-based standards for forest climate services exist throughout the world.

Jurisdictional scale approaches stood out as better aligned to Guyana’s objectives as opposed to project level actions, for reasons that this offers better safeguarding against concerns on leakage, and assures permanence in impact.

The Architecture for REDD+ Transactions and its REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard (ART-TREES) V2 standard were adopted by Guyana to be taken forward for entry into the voluntary carbon market after meeting all of the objectives set by Guyana and being directly congruent with high forest, low deforestation jurisdictions.

On an annual basis, Guyana submits a report that is based on data from its Monitoring, Reporting and Verification System (MRVS) each year.

The independent auditors who are enrolled with the ART-TRESS secretariat conduct an audit of a REDD+ Safeguards Summary of Information (SOI) outlining continuing compliance with UNFCCC social and environmental safeguards and Guyana’s submission.

The public can also see audit results, which are then explained by the ART board. The credits that are certified in Guyana successfully completed the process.

Following certification, the credits are recorded on the openly searchable ART Registry, where they are made available for purchase.

(This is part of a weekly series on LCDS). The author can be contacted at cparkinson0206@gmail.com