THE Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030 and Guyana’s national development policy direct the country’s approach to carry out its international obligations under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The first phase, LCDS 2009, included one of the largest national discussions in Guyana’s history and defined a staged method by which Guyana may profit from the forest climate services and allocate the money to LCDS priorities.

The National Strategy for Guyana is outlined in the LCDS 2030, which builds on the LCDS 2009. LCDS 2030 outlines the approach and actions that Guyana, as a nation, can take to develop and grow for the inclusive benefit of all in a non-polluting, low-carbon way; it also involves utilising the country’s natural resources sustainably while combating climate change and its adverse effects such as floods and droughts.

Further, it also outlines how Guyana can sustain its world-class ecosystem services for the long term by integrating with the global economy, receiving payments for ecosystem services, and seeking to align with and contribute to global climate goals, which include net zero carbon emissions and keeping global temperatures below 1.5 °C.

Guyana sought a bilateral partner open to collaboration which shared the country’s ambition for developing a global model in Phase One. It was also established that the Guyana-Norway pact, the second largest forest pact of its sort in the world at the time, was the result of this, and it was signed in 2009.

For 2009–2015, Norway paid Guyana more than US$220 million for forest climate services.

The Amerindian Development Fund project, the rehabilitation of the Cunha Canal, clean energy, low-carbon jobs, land titling for Amerindians, support for small and medium enterprise development in partnership with the local banking sector, and many other investments that were outlined in the LCDS 2009 and a 2013 update, were and continue to be funded with these revenues, as illustrated below.

The plan outlined in 2009 has gone on to Phase 2 in Guyana, and the country can begin to supplement or replace its payments to Norway and earn money from international voluntary carbon markets in exchange for its forest climate services. The LCDS 2030 also outlines how the nation may begin preparing for prospective revenue streams from other ecosystem services, such as those based on Guyana’s exceptional biodiversity and water resources.

However, ideas for potential investments for these extra earnings were sought during the national consultation on LCDS 2030, with a plan specifying two paths. That is, the national programmes as outlined in the draft LCDS 2030, including investments in renewable energy, land titling, protection against climate change, and other areas; and the community and village-led programmes for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) as set out in Village Sustainability Plans (VSPs) or equivalent, put together by communities themselves in accordance with the principles of free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) as set out in the LCDS 2030 Chapter Two.

The LCDS 2030 also outlines four interconnected objectives for Guyana, the fourth of which was introduced to consider new local and global circumstances. The first three objectives have been the LCDS’ primary goals since 2009. They are:

Value Ecosystem Services: Over time, Guyana aims to integrate with global mechanisms that value the country’s globally significant ecosystem services, including biodiversity, water management, and ocean or marine resources. In the immediate term, Guyana’s efforts will focus mainly on forest climate services and the value Guyana provides the world in the fight against climate change, continuing with the three-phase approach set out in 2009.

Invest in Clean Energy and Stimulate Low Carbon Growth: Guyana is undergoing one of the world’s most ambitious energy transitions and growing the economy fivefold while keeping greenhouse gas emissions from energy generation at around 2019 levels. This will be done by replacing expensive, polluting, heavy fuel oil with natural gas as a bridge to an energy system built mainly from hydropower, solar, and wind power.

Protect Against Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss: Guyana has advanced a new set of priority investments in drainage and irrigation, sea defences, mangrove restoration, flood, and drought measures to address the potential harm to households and businesses from climate change.

Align with global climate and biodiversity goals: Implementing the LCDS will advance progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals, as well as a series of multilateral, regional, and bilateral agreements. Moreover, since the production of the 2009 LCDS, Guyana has discovered oil and gas, transforming the country’s development prospects. LCDS 2030 outlines that Guyana will act strategically and responsibly as the sector develops, supporting global energy security while diversifying and decarbonising Guyana’s domestic economy and investing in development priorities for all Guyanese, including health, education, and low-carbon opportunities.

In advance of Guyana’s second national review of the SDGs, a conference hosted by the Ministry of Finance on May 2 at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre looked at five key goals. They were Water and Sanitation (SDG 6), Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7), Industry Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG 9), Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11), and Partnership for the Goals (SDG 17). The role of the LCDS in aligning national action to global priorities was underscored.

The strategy for carrying out the LCDS will achieve the international, regional, and bilateral agreements within the subject areas of each programme as well as the UN Sustainable Development Goals. These will then be incorporated into institutional planning at the level of the government and fed into sector-level planning.
Guyana’s LCDS 2009 and LCDS 2030 have incorporated national development and reporting on the SDGs.