–Former President of Colombia Duque says; highlights Guyana’s environmental boom

WITH all attention focused on Guyana, the emerging powerhouse in South America, former President of Colombia Iván Duque asserts that the opportune moment to invest in the country has arrived.

As Guyana’s Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo made its third debut on Monday at the Marriott Hotel, under the theme ‘Fueling Transformation and Modernisation’, Duque’s presentation brought the nation’s lush biodiversity into focus.

He said: “This is time to invest in Guyana, not only in the boom of oil and gas, which is very important, but the environmental boom of zero deforestation, biodiversity credits, energy transition, to sustainable housing, working with indigenous communities, etc.”

With Guyana having over 87 per cent of forest coverage, the former President of Colombia had no trouble grabbing the attention of international and local stakeholders.

“So, what I expect to share with you today is why there is a case for Guyana when it comes to…a nature positive driven growth or development agenda,” Duque said as he analysed why Guyana’s zero deforestation is an important element to pitch to investors. Because the positivity of nature is not usually focused on.

Based on his perspective, it is an essential aspect to take into consideration for the purpose of achieving an investment that is both environmentally sound and effective.

“And that takes me to the opportunities that we have in Guyana. The first one is that that concept of zero deforestation is going to be able to open the door to connect long-term investments with the development of a voluntary carbon-credit market,” Duque said while highlighting that Guyana is one of the most biodiverse countries on the planet.

Furthermore, he stated that a country like Guyana, which has already stated and achieved almost zero deforestation along with a voluntary carbon-credit market, is also going to be a “promised land for the next chapter of green financing globally”.
While further delving into Guyana’s environmental growth, he shifted his focus towards the Low-Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and its pivotal role in the energy transition.

“The promise of having the oil-and-gas boom in Guyana is connected to a development need,” Duque said, adding that the LCDS will usher in cleaner energy that will be at a cheaper cost.

He then went on to say: “…So, the energy transition is a strategic part of the Guyanese development agenda, and the condition for these energies are working very well in the regulation that has been adopted.”

The former Colombian President, while urging investors to not let the opportunity fly by, remarked: “Just to put this in investment terms, $1 invested in Guyana is a greener dollar than $1 invested in other parts of the hemisphere when you look at all these complimentary opportunities and ideas that are part of the Low-Carbon Development Strategy.”

For context, on June 8, 2009, the then President of Guyana and the current Vice- President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo launched the LCDS. This national strategy aims to develop “a low-deforestation, low-carbon, climate-resilient economy”.

The primary objective of that strategy is to facilitate the transformation of Guyana’s economy by simultaneously addressing climate change. This will be achieved through the implementation of incentives aimed at preserving forests, which currently contribute to approximately one-fifth of global emissions.