Carbon credit grants already being utilised by several villages – VP Jagdeo

– says some still to send in proposals for project to be undertaken

With the monies from the carbon credit sale to Hess Corporation already deposited into the bank accounts of Amerindian villages, some communities have already approved their plans and have commenced implementation.
Indigenous communities were slated to receive 15 per cent of Hess Corporation’s payment for Guyana’s carbon credits, which amounted to $4.7 billion.
Some 241 Amerindian communities across the country each received grants ranging from $10M to $35 million. The historic agreement signed with Hess Corporation for Guyana’s carbon credits in 2022 will see the country earning US$750 million for its forest.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has informed that Government has already received several proposals while some are yet to come in.
Jagdeo underscored, “I am aware that all of the money is already deposited in accounts of the villages, over 240. Although, some are not titled areas, they are where Amerindians live. They already have bank accounts with the money in the bank accounts based on their shares, ranging between $10 million to $35 million, depending on the size of the communities.”
“They are supposed to have the village development plans approved at a council meeting, with at least 60 per cent votes of the people in the area. Some of those plans have come in and some of them have already been drawing down the money from the run to implement those plans.”
The Vice President had expressed hope that the Indigenous communities would spend their funds on income-generating ventures. According to Jagdeo, it is preferred if the money is spent on the social sectors, job creation, and/or on food security efforts.
In fact, Moco Moco Village Council in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) has already gotten clearance to construct a supermarket in the village that will be run by youths. In addition, they plan to rehabilitate the community centre.
Hess Corp, which is one of the partners operating in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana, will be buying 2.5 million credits per year for the period 2016 and 2032, valuing US$750 million.
The 33.7 million credits being sold to Hess Corp is just 30 per cent of the carbon sink contained in Guyana’s vast forest cover. The country’s more than 18 million hectares of forests are estimated to store approximately 20 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. The remaining 70 per cent of Guyana’s carbon credit will be put on the market for future sale agreements.
The total initial money received from the carbon credit agreement with Hess would total US$150 million by the end of 2023 – with US$112.5 million already received and a further US$37.5 million to come in July 2023.
Guyana is also one of the few credits in the forestry sector that can now be sold in the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) market, which is the compliance market for abating airlines’ emissions.
With Guyana now a leading trader in the global forest carbon market, the Vice President had noted that Government is looking at ways to increase earnings from those transactions. (G-12)