— as country solidifies global biodiversity alliance
WITH bold commitments and a call for global unity, Guyana has positioned itself at the forefront of international biodiversity and climate efforts, as President Dr. Irfaan Ali outlined a roadmap to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP30), during the closing of the Global Biodiversity Alliance summit in Georgetown.
“Our objective is to bring everyone around the table and to find a comprehensive solution based on science, facts, market mechanisms, livelihoods, and a sustainable future,” President Ali told the room full of international environmental leaders, civil society groups, and Indigenous representatives at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre while he reiterated his government’s resolve to lead by example in environmental stewardship.
Guyana’s biodiversity strategy centred on technology, data transparency and sustainable development will underpin its official guide toward the COP30 climate summit, to be hosted in Brazil later this year.
“We believe the only way we can win is by creating space for every voice and every sector. We have to let every sector feel a part of the solution,” President Ali said, underlining the importance of inclusive, cross-sectoral participation in tackling the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.
Marking the summit as a turning point, the President affirmed, “The work begins now. Let this stand as a bold signal of Guyana’s unwavering commitment to nature, climate and our shared future.”
In a bid to set global benchmarks, Guyana also committed to a full-scale audit of its biodiversity resources.
“We have committed to a full assessment and documentation of our biodiversity assets, so that we can demonstrate, from the outset, our commitment to transparency and accountability. We’re hoping to be one of the first countries to have a full audit and baseline data,” President Ali declared.
The Global Biodiversity Alliance summit hosted in Guyana for the first time has been hailed as a significant milestone in galvanising regional and international co-operation on nature conservation and sustainable development.
Meanwhile President of the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP30), Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, has declared that the upcoming COP30 in Belém, Brazil, will be “extremely dynamic” as he urged that biodiversity to be given equal weight alongside climate action.

Ambassador do Lago described the forum as a crucial platform to ensure biodiversity ecosystems take their “rightful place” in the international climate conversation.
“The action agenda is going to be extremely dynamic and will be very much focused for the wider participation of this, local governments, of private sector, academia, etc.,” he stated, signalling a strong emphasis on inclusivity and multisectoral collaboration at this year’s COP30, slated to be held in Brazil.
Ambassador do Lago stressed that addressing the biodiversity crisis requires more than just the engagement of national governments.
“We know that we have little time and that we have to organise the information and the science, because we also have enough science and enough experience and enough good examples of things that are working,” he said.
In a call for collective and coordinated efforts, he highlighted the need to involve all segments of society including civil society, subnational governments, academic institutions and the private sector in what he described as a shared global fight for biodiversity and climate resilience.
On the topic of forest restoration, Ambassador do Lago made a passionate case for strengthening carbon markets.
“So, for restoration of forests, I completely agree that we need to have the most dynamic and efficient carbon market possible, because the credits from carbon rescue, from forest restoration are, by definition, much better credits than any other credits, because they are the only ones that captured CO2.”
Guyana is also aiming to make a case for generating credits specifically tied to biodiversity, with several world leaders and experts already formalising the new biodiversity alliance. The initiative is expected to complement existing efforts under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.
President Ali announced that a comprehensive outline capturing the summit’s key outcomes, findings, and international agreements will be formally presented at COP30 in Brazil later this year, advancing efforts to place biodiversity at the top of the global agenda.
The alliance is expected to enable new initiatives, and foster the development of innovative, inclusive and scalable solutions to address biodiversity loss.
It will be an active community of nations, businesses, corporations, organisations, communities, territories, academia and individuals committed to the shared vision working to securing biodiversity.