China-Caribbean Forum: Guyana signs MOU with China to boost green, low carbon investments

…agreements to help improve trade with Guyana and China

Guyana, represented last week by Foreign Relations and International Cooperation Minister, Hugh Todd at the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the China-Caribbean Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum, has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with China to promote green and low-carbon investments.

The MOUs were signed between Todd and Vice Minister of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China and China International Trade Representative, Wang Shouwen, on the sidelines of the ministerial conference which was held in Hainan, China.
It came after the two Ministers engaged in a bilateral discussion, on matters relating to the advancement of trade and investment between Guyana and China. According to a statement from the Ministry, the MOUs pertain to both bilateral trade and low carbon investments.
“The fruitful discussions between the two sides concluded with the signing of two Memoranda of Understanding which include the Memorandum of Understanding on Deepening Bilateral Cooperation and Trade Facilitation and the Memorandum of Understanding on Promoting Investment Cooperation in Green and Low Carbon Development between the Governments of Guyana and China.”
“The two memoranda will provide the necessary impetus for the improvement of trade and investment relations between Guyana and China,” the statement further said.
The bilateral relationship between Guyana and China, particularly in regard to the volume of trade, has been on an upward trend. As of 2023, bilateral trade has increased to well over US$1 billion. Chinese contributions have also been felt in Chinese business investing in Guyana, with such investments going from less than US$100 million to over US$8 billion.
Guyana and China celebrated 50 years of bilateral relations last year. Also in 2023, President Ali met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Chengdu, capital city of southwest China’s Sichuan Province.
During the Ministerial Conference of the China-Caribbean Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum, Minister Todd had stressed the need for the Caribbean region and China to close the existing gap in trade. Todd had further highlighted the Government of Guyana’s main priorities and interest in further collaborating with China in the areas of food security, energy security and climate security.
Other Caribbean countries attending the Forum include Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, The Bahamas, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Haiti as an observer.
When it comes to low carbon development, Guyana has for some time gained global recognition on the Net Zero by 2050 Agenda, through its robust plans for energy security and renewable generation, while continuously recording increased economic prosperity.
The United Nations Global Roadmap sets out the target that the world must achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and involves balancing the amount of greenhouse gas produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere.
More than 80 per cent of Guyana’s 18 million hectares of forests are estimated to store approximately 20 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. Additionally, Guyana has been implementing a Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) as a national development strategy.
Guyana has been able to develop forest-based carbon credits for sale internationally, which is certified by Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) and are among the most robust in the world.
In addition, Guyana has been advocating for greater global recognition for the role played by highly forested countries in the journey to net zero, through the regularisation of markets for the sale of credits.
Following the announcement of the certification of some of Guyana’s credits by ART, Hess Corporation has committed to purchasing 12.5 million credits for the years 2016-2030, in a deal valued at least US$750 million. With payments already kicked off more than a year ago for 2021-2025 credits, Guyana is dedicating the funds to low-carbon projects and climate adaptation and mitigation measures.
In fact, Guyana received its first tranche of carbon credit monies, totaling US$75 million in 2023, of which US$22 million was directly invested in Amerindian villages that developed over 800 projects. These projects are being implemented in 242 indigenous villages.
Moreover, Guyana has already earned US$37.5 million for the sale of high-quality carbon credits for 2024, from the multi-year agreement with United States energy-major Hess Corporation.