Guyana’s Head of State, Dr. Irfaan Ali will be leading a delegation to the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. COP28 will be held from November 30 until December 12, 2023, at the Expo City, Dubai. There, the Guyanese official is expected to focus his energies on encouraging world leaders to have forest conservation feature prominently in the menu of measures to meet net zero by 2050.
The country’s Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo recently provided greater context to the position Guyana will take at the upcoming event.
Hess doing more for forests than many countries – VP Jagdeo | OilNOW
“Our position is that forests cannot be saved by philanthropy. We have gone past that model. We see it as an important abatement solution to climate change. You cannot achieve net zero without tackling a key source of emissions which is forest and land degradation and it is not getting the required attention because forest carbon is not part of a compliance market,” expressed the Vice President during a recent press engagement.
Expounding further, the Vice President said there are no public funds now, particularly official development assistance, being dedicated at scale to saving forests.
“…we don’t expect any to be made available, given how adaptation has fared globally because it has suffered from a lack of funding,” the official said.
He also outlined Guyana’s intention to work at stimulating a market-based mechanism to do that. Jagdeo said Guyana made some degree of progress in starting the conversation almost two decades ago but the momentum was killed by many non-governmental organizations with hidden agendas.
Be that as it may, he said Guyana is intent on lobbying for a mechanism that would incentivize the conservation of forests.
On the domestic front, Guyana has made significant progress in capitalizing on its expansive forests. The Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) has been a major catalyst for this success. It is this very strategy that provided the basis for Guyana to strike a landmark deal with Hess Corporation for its internationally validated carbon credits. The American oil producer had pledged in December 2022 to purchase 12.5 million credits from Guyana, valued at least US$750 million. Hess, which holds a 30% stake in Guyana’s oil-rich Stabroek Block, has already provided Guyana with US$150 million.
Jagdeo said these experiences no doubt enrich the lessons Guyana’s Head of State will be sharing this week at COP28. The official also disclosed that President Ali is scheduled to return on Friday, December 1. His return coincides with the International Court of Justice’s expected ruling on the nation’s request for protective measures against Venezuela’s December 3 Referendum.
Commonwealth says Venezuela referendum a ‘threat to peace and stability’ in Caribbean region
Stakeholders here and abroad have raised concerns about the referendum which seeks the support of Venezuelans to take unilateral action that could result in the annexation of Guyana’s Essequibo Region. CARICOM, a preeminent body in fostering regional integration and peace, has said the referendum, in its current form, has no validity or standing in international law.
