–President Ali says; highlights Guyana’s leading position in biodiversity, forest conservation

GUYANA’S approach to tackling the effects of climate change is not about lofty speeches, it is about real action and real work in positioning the country as a leader on the “climate agenda,” President Dr Irfaan Ali has said.
He made those remarks during a panel discussion at the first United Caribbean Forum, held in Georgetown at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) last week.

As Guyana continues to stand out in environmental conservation, with one of the lowest deforestation rates in the world, the Head of State highlighted how forests have the ability to open a new wealth of opportunities for all citizens.

He said: “…There’s no other country that is offering forest leadership better than Guyana… and that of course had a genesis, and that genesis was President Clinton. The Clinton Foundation was the first stop in the distilling and articulation of the Low Carbon Development Strategy,” adding that it was President Clinton and Former President and current Vice-President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo who brought forests to the agenda.

With the prospects already bright for Guyana in forest conservation, President Ali said the nation’s biodiversity is another stream of bringing forth prosperity.
“In the last 50 years, the world has lost 65 per cent of its biodiversity.

We have kept our biodiversity intact. Very soon the world must come to the understanding that there’s a value for that; and we have to ensure that when the evaluation is done, our product is positioned in a way to create a new area of revenue,” he said.
The President then went on to say: “Climate for us is not only about the lofty speeches. It’s about real action and real work in positioning our country as a leader in the climate agenda.”

Regarding climate change, the country’s landmark LCDS 2030 is a testament to its commitment to not just discussing the topic, but also for presenting actionable solutions for sustainable development.
The LCDS, in a nutshell, is a framework intended to map the path of a new growth trajectory in a non-polluting way.

The LCDS 2030, according to the official website, sets out four inter-linked objectives for Guyana, the first three of which were the basic objectives of the LCDS since 2009, and the fourth was added to reflect new local and global realities: value ecosystem services; Invest in Clean Energy and Stimulate Low-Carbon Growth; Protect Against Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss; and Align with Global Climate and Biodiversity Goals.

The second-generation LCDS 2030, which prioritises evolution of the sale of forest climate services, saw Guyana being the first country to be issued jurisdiction-scale carbon credits, followed by the announcement of the world’s first sale of such credits.

In 2022, after being awarded the first jurisdiction, Guyana sold 37.5 million carbon credits for a minimum of US$750 million, to be paid during 2022-2032 (a third of the credits Guyana will receive over 2016-30); this is one of the largest transactions in the world.

More recently, Guyana made the world’s First Paris Agreement Corresponding Adjustment for ART-Issued TREES Carbon Credits, allowing for the authorisation of carbon units for use in the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).

Additionally, as Guyana continues to champion biodiversity, the President had previously announced that the government is collaborating with some of the best universities to build a world-class biodiversity centre in Guyana.