GUYANA, over a decade ago, emerged as a global climate change pioneer due to its high forest cover, minimal deforestation, commitment to renewable energy, and focus on low-carbon, green investments for economic growth.

Today, leaders worldwide are turning to Guyana for guidance on addressing climate change, drawn by the nation’s vast forest cover and increasing efforts to preserve its natural heritage. As one of South America’s most densely forested countries, Guyana proudly possesses over 87 percent of the remaining forested areas. Moreover, the nation has emerged as a frontrunner in combating the pressing matter of climate change. Countless leaders across the globe have also demonstrated their enthusiasm for adopting the nation’s strategies and formulating novel solutions rooted in established ideas.

President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, and Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo are currently leading a team of experts this week to the 28th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in Dubai, where they will showcase’s environmental stewardship.

“Our leadership will be on show at COP28, as Guyana will be given a pavilion in which many of the leaders across the world and from important international and regional organisations will be taking part in academic, theoretical, and practical discourse on issues of climate change, the environment, and forests,” President Ali told reporters at a recent press conference.

The United Arab Emirates is currently hosting COP28, a convening of the 198 nations that have ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, until December 12, 2023. Its responsibilities include evaluating and monitoring the convention’s measures and progress towards achieving its objectives.

While at COP28, leaders will be closely studying how to address climate change and manage the effects of a warming planet at the summit, as climate change is one of the top 10 global challenges. Presenting its strategies for balancing its environmental stewardship and its oil and gas resources through its Low Carbon Development Strategy 2023 (LCDS 2030) and the monetarization of its standing forest through the sale of carbon credits, Guyana is poised to be one of the conference’s most vibrant voices this year.

According to President Ali, “what we are doing and how we are presenting this leadership has allowed us to capture the attention of various stakeholders across the world.”

Guyana’s involvement in COP28 goes beyond simple representation, and President Ali emphasised that the country’s LCDS will be offered as a tool for development in different meetings with other leaders. He continued by saying that the purpose of this is to promote the adoption of sustainable development models that place an emphasis on environmental preservation.

Along with the nation’s LCDS 2030, Vice President Jagdeo stated that the country’s recent carbon credit sales will be a major focus. According to him, the creation of market-based measures to support forest conservation will be strongly supported by Guyana. Guyana will prioritise global incentives for forest conservation, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo noted.

Dr. Jagdeo explained, “we’ve made the argument that forests cannot be saved by philanthropy. We’ve passed that model. It is an important abatement solution to climate change; you cannot achieve net zero without tackling a key source of emissions, which is forest and land degradation, and it is not getting the required attention because forest carbon is not part of a compliance market. There are no public funds now…at scale being dedicated to saving forests, and we don’t expect any to be made available, given how adaptation funding has fared globally. Because it has suffered from a lack of funding, we don’t expect that public money will be going into trying to preserve forests globally, so we have to work at stimulating a market-based mechanism to do that.”
The world’s first TREES credits were notably awarded to Guyana by the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) in December 2022. It was the first time a nation had received carbon credits created especially for the voluntary and compliant carbon markets for effectively preventing the loss and degradation of forests, a procedure known as jurisdictional REDD+, which was a significant milestone.

Guyana received 33.47 million TREES credits from ART for the five-year period between 2016 and 2020 after the Board of Directors of ART approved the project and concluded an independent evaluation and verification process. This made it possible for Hess Corporation and the Guyana government to reach a historic deal in which the oil giants decided to buy one-third of all Guyana’s credits—both issued and projected—up until 2030.

Stated differently, Guyana was able to generate revenue from the 19.6 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide stored in its standing forest. The enormous deal will bring in at least US$750 million for the nation over the next ten years. Secondly, consistent with the Caribbean Community’s (CARICOM) overarching focus on support for adaptation and funding for loss and damage.

Vice President Jagdeo stated recently that “our argument to the international community is that you just can’t have funding for these initiatives, but you have to pay attention to the mechanism for getting the funds to the recipients, that it is a mechanism fit for purpose, and that it should lend to building capacity in communities themselves.”

On the subject of Guyana emerging as a new producer of oil and gas, the VP said, “We go to COP as an emerging oil producer, but one that still supports a reduction in fossil fuel subsidies; we go to COP with a call for early disbursements. We believe in new technology that should reduce the carbon footprint of activities in the oil and gas sector.”

Dr. Jagdeo also stated that a five-point plan for reaching net-zero emissions is supported by the Guyana government. Large polluters are being cut out of the supply chain, renewable energy is being encouraged, demand is being managed, technology is being used, and deforestation and land degradation are being decreased.

According to him, “We believe that if you do all five of these things, then you can achieve net zero without pushing the world through hardships that would come in the immediate displacement of fossil fuel.”

More funding for climate change is something that many leaders agree with, and not only Guyana’s officials. On a recent visit to Guyana, former UK prime minister Tony Blair expressed his hope that world leaders at COP28 will advance a framework that gives climate change players like Guyana the money they need.

Blair said during a meeting with President Ali in August that they spoke about Guyana’s contribution to the global climate movement. “I hope that this COP comes out with a significant and improved framework whereby the developed world realises its job is to help that process of financing the energy transition in the energy world. I hope that this COP comes out with a significant and improved framework, whereby the developed world realises its job is to help that process of financing the energy transition in the energy world.”

Based on his analysis, cumulative emissions may reach approximately 20 percent by 2030 due to continued development, especially in America, Europe, and Southeast Asia.
(This is part of a weekly series on LCDS) The author can be contacted at cparkinson0206@gmail.com