…highlights Guyana’s ambitious efforts to reduce emissions by 50 per cent through gas-to-energy project, solar energy, hydropower initiatives and water-management investments

VICE-PRESIDENT Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has issued a strong call for the world to accelerate its efforts at cutting carbon emissions, warning that current decarbonisation measures are unlikely to stave off the worst impacts of climate change.
Speaking at an event last week Friday, Dr Jagdeo reiterated that vulnerable nations continue to be disproportionately affected by climate change.
The Caribbean is the most exposed region to climate-related natural disasters.

Highlighting Guyana’s strides in sustainability, Dr Jagdeo emphasised the country’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030, which aims to protect Guyana’s vast rainforests while simultaneously driving economic growth. Through the LCDS, Guyana has been able to preserve significant carbon sinks, which play a crucial role in global climate regulation.

However, Dr Jagdeo warned that initiatives such as the LCDS could only achieve their full impact if backed by global-decarbonisation efforts. He explained that the government is prioritising energy transition, and the gas-to-energy project, combined with solar energy initiatives, will reduce emissions by 40 percent. This reduction is particularly impactful as the country currently relies heavily on bunker and diesel fuel for most of its power generation. “And over the course of the next maybe five years, you’re going to have in excess of 100 megawatts of solar power. And then the hydropower will be able to triple our output of energy and yet cut our emissions by possibly 50 per cent. So, the energy transition is already being implemented,” Dr Jagdeo said.

He emphasised that despite Guyana’s efforts to reduce emissions, global progress on decarbonising the economy by the critical target of 2050 remains insufficient. Essentially, this means that international negotiations are falling short of achieving the necessary commitments to reach net-zero emissions by mid-century, which puts both the environment and vulnerable nations at greater risk.

“Not enough is being done to decarbonise the global economy by a particular threshold date, which is 2050. I’m not very hopeful that much more would be done,” stressed Dr Jagdeo, who has been a long-standing advocate for environmental sustainability.
Dr Jagdeo highlighted that even if Guyana successfully reduces its emissions, the country still faces the challenge of addressing the existing concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

“So, we have to adapt. Our biggest vulnerability is water management from the sea and from the backlands. We don’t have, like hurricanes, et cetera…those adverse weather events. So, we are investing a massive sum of money now to manage water.”
Highlighting the country’s progress in water management, he stated, “Sixty new kokers [are] being rehabilitated; 90 new pumping stations with 39 pumps installed. That has tripled our capacity to take pump water from the coastal areas. Forty mobile pumps, several ‘Hope-like’ canals to manage water from the backlands directly into the Atlantic Ocean. That’s ongoing.”

Guyana is dedicated to safeguarding its forests and other resources, but the government has often emphasised that in order to spearhead conservation efforts, it requires financial and technical support. Guyana has had many obstacles to overcome in the fight to protect its forests, including illicit mining and logging.

The Guyana government has put regulations in place that are aimed at forest conservation. Initially unveiled in 2009, the LCDS serves as a fundamental component of these endeavours.
The plan promotes economic growth while placing a strong emphasis on the sustainable utilisation of Guyana’s natural resources. Its objectives are to preserve the forest, lower carbon emissions, and make money with programmes such as carbon trading.

Guyana and Norway signed a landmark deal in 2009, wherein the Kingdom of Norway committed US$250 million to help Guyana with its forest conservation. One of the earliest collaborations of its sort, this one established a standard for rewarding developing nations for their environmental stewardship.  In 2019, Norway released G$9.1 billion to the World Bank-run Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF), thereby completing its final payment under a landmark forest-protection deal. Guyana committed to upholding low rates of deforestation and putting mechanisms in place to protect the forest under the terms of this agreement. Numerous sustainable development projects around the nation have benefitted from the cash received.

In 2022, the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) issued the world’s first trees credit, enabling Guyana to enter into an historic agreement with Hess Corporation, whereby the oil giants opted to purchase about one-third of all Guyana’s credits.
In 2023, the country received its first payment of US$75 million (or G$15.6 billion) from the sale of carbon credits. Some 15 per cent of this was allocated to community/village-led programmes for indigenous peoples, while the remaining 85 per cent was allocated for adaptation measures outlined in the country’s Low Carbon Development Strategy.