–country in no rush to dispose of credits, Dr. Jagdeo says

ALTHOUGH Guyana has begun discussions with commercial airlines to secure a market within the aviation sector for its certified carbon units, the government has maintained that the country is in no rush to sell its remaining credits and will only enter premium markets.
The Peoples Progressive Party (PPP), General Secretary and Guyana’s Vice-President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo reiterated this on Thursday, during a news conference, where he told reporters that players within the voluntary market are unable to match the country’s price.
“We’re not in any hurry to dispose of the 70 per cent of credits that we have, because we are waiting to get the right price.

“We’re having a hard time getting people to match those prices now because in the voluntary markets globally, what we sold for $15, $20 and $25, it’s sometimes between $1 to $2 that is what’s happening in the voluntary markets,” Dr. Jagdeo further said.
Guyana has established its own unique mechanism, through the creation of one of the first Low Carbon Development Strategies in the world, which enabled the country to enter a voluntary market, for the sale of carbon credits.
However, Dr. Jagdeo has argued that a structured mechanism could see forested country’s earning more for the carbon sequestered by standing forests.

Last year, Dr. Jagdeo had made a case at 28th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in Dubai, for world leaders to further discussions on the carbon credit market.
“Because there was no agreement to move article six along which catered for the development of markets, and that I think was a setback for carbon pricing and particularly forest carbon,” he said Thursday.
However, the Guyanese leader maintained that Guyana will only enter into deals that are favourable to the country.

“We are not in any desperate situation where we have to accept anything that’s on the market. We will only go into premium markets. But you also have a global market that influences the price paid on the premium market. So, we are not desperate to dispose of it,” he said.
The Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) had issued 7.14 million vintage carbon credits to Guyana, marking a ground-breaking achievement in the global fight against climate change.

Simultaneously, the Government of Guyana had announced the world’s first Paris Agreement corresponding adjustment, a significant step reported to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
These developments fulfilled requirements to label the credits as the world’s first eligible for use by airlines towards their targets in the 2024-2026 phase of the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) global emission reduction program, CORSIA.
The issuance by ART, known as TREES credits, recognises Guyana’s efforts in successfully reducing emissions from forest loss and degradation while maintaining one of the world’s most intact tropical forests through jurisdictional REDD+ initiatives.
This milestone aligns with Guyana’s broader commitment to promote social inclusion, gender equality, and sustainable development.

The authorisation and reporting to the UNFCCC make Guyana’s TREES credits eligible for use by airlines to meet their compliance requirements in CORSIA’s first phase, which commenced on January 1, 2024.
With 126 countries voluntarily participating in CORSIA’s first phase, the issuance of CORSIA-eligible credits from Guyana holds global significance in the efforts to combat climate change.