IN his quest to ensure that the country continues to have a significant international voice on environmental protection and climate security, President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, met with 13-year-old Ismachiah Oduwole, a footballer from California, USA, who is also playing his role in contributing towards climate action and environmental advocacy.

During their meeting, the President commended the young activist for his initiative and shared with him, facts about Guyana’s forest. According to President Ali, “the forest that we have is a part of the Amazon Forest, and it stores 20 per cent of the world’s oxygen. Our forest is the size of England and Scotland combined; it stores 19.5 gigatonnes of carbon, and 15 per cent of all the revenues that we earn on the carbon sales go directly to the Indigenous People, which are the first people of the country. The revenue goes towards them to help them directly with their livelihood.”

In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Chronicle, Ismachiah explained that the main reason for his visit to Guyana was to meet and have a conversation with President Ali about climate change.
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According to the young activist, “my visit with President Ali was great; I told him about my mission and what got me into it. Apart from that, President Ali facilitated a tour of Guyana’s rainforest, where I got to see the largest single-drop waterfall in the world, the Kaieteur Falls. I also got a chance to see the lush green forest. I would like to thank him for the experience.”

He continued, “there are four reasons why I picked Guyana: the first reason is that Guyana is selling carbon credits because of its large rain forest, the second reason is that by selling carbon credits, Guyana is slowing down deforestation; and it is also contributing to absorbing carbon dioxide. “My third reason is that Guyana has a full-proof programme for the citizens so that they can learn about the cause and prevention of climate change. The fourth and final reason why I chose Guyana is because Guyana is exploring hydroelectricity, which is when water is used to produce electricity.”

While he may be passionate about having a cleaner and better world for mankind, the 13-year-old activist took the opportunity to speak to the people of Guyana, especially the children, saying, “It doesn’t matter how old you are, you can make a difference. Ensure that you dispose of your garbage properly, and a simple gesture can go a long way. We can all make the world a better place. I went to Africa with my family, and I saw single-use plastic on the floor, and I thought to myself that the plastics were supposed to be in the trash and not just lying there. That’s when I decided that I wanted to do something to protect the climate and the earth.”

Guyana continues to be a pioneer in the world for forest management because of the strategic vision of the LCDS 2030, which is producing tangible results for the climate financing programme. The nation’s historic issuing of the first jurisdictional-scale carbon credits was highlighted by the president during one of his press conferences in July, at the Office of the President in Georgetown.

According to the President, Guyana will receive US$750 million from the sale of carbon credits for the years 2016 through 2030, with US$150M already received from this total. He also pointed out that the hinterland will receive 15 per cent of the revenues from the carbon credit programme, in addition to the coastland, as a result of the climate funding programme, with 242 Amerindian villages already receiving a total benefit of $4.7 billion from this. President Ali further explained that over 200 villages have already submitted their village plans, and they are all in varying phases of execution, adding that more than 85 percent of the country’s forest is still intact as evidence that the administration is committed to protecting the environment.

Additionally, since 2010, the nation’s rate of deforestation has been at its lowest. Guyana recorded a 0.036 per cent deforestation rate in 2022, which, as the President noted, was independently verified by remote sensing technology, and ground assessments.

“Even with Guyana’s accelerated development in all corners of the country, we have not only maintained forests, but we have further strengthened our progress in this area,” the Head of State noted.

The President emphasised that the nation has also been able to maintain its status as a net carbon sink, which indicates that it takes in more carbon annually than it emits, noting that even as its oil and gas industry grows and ten floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) boats are currently operating offshore, the nation maintains this position.
President Ali made the significant observation that 154 million tonnes of carbon dioxide are annually removed from the atmosphere. To further add to this, Guyana has made tremendous advancements in its switch to clean and renewable energy sources, which is a key goal of the LCDS 2030.

According to him, “Guyana’s energy security is bolstered with the signing of the contract for the gas-to-energy project,” the president stated. “Guyana’s largest project to date, the project will add 300 megawatts of new power and cut electricity costs by 50 per cent.”

The President also referred to the quick adoption of solar off-grid systems in Berbice, Linden, and Essequibo. The proceeds from the $85 million in bilateral co-operation between Guyana and Norway will also be used to finance 33 megawatts of solar energy. The gas-to-energy project, which is anticipated to start producing electricity by the end of 2024, is anticipated to revolutionise the ease of doing business in Guyana.