Countrywide consultations on LCDS 2030 to begin soon – Bharrat

The Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030 will be tabled in the National Assembly only after it has been subjected to as wide consultations as possible. In fact, more countrywide consultations are expected to be launched soon.
This is according to Natural Resource Minister Vickram Bharrat, in a recent interview. According to the Minister, the Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) and the various Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have all been playing their part in the process.
“I’m part of the multi-stakeholder committee, headed by President Ali. We would have met (March 28), as a matter of fact, again. And there will be a series of consultations throughout the entire country. The President has ordered that we must go out. Including Cabinet members too. The members of the multi-stakeholder group, the various NGOs that are involved, must go out and consult with all interested groups. Especially in the hinterland regions.”
“So very soon, you would see the teams fanning out to the different regions, to hold those consultations. I know a few were held already. One in Annai and one in deep South Rupununi. So, there will be many more. So, from that process you would know that we haven’t set a timeline yet as to when it will be tabled. Because we have to go through the consultation process,” Minister Bharrat said.
He further explained that the team is currently drafting the schedule for those consultations to be held. That being said, Minister Bharrat cautioned that they would not stop short of consulting because they’re pushing to reach a deadline.
“We want to ensure that all groups are engaged and consulted with. We haven’t set a fixed timeframe. But we’re saying that these consultations must be completed first, before we can move to actually setting a deadline,” he explained.
The LCDS 2030 seeks to create a new low-carbon economy in Guyana by establishing incentives which value the world’s ecosystem services, and promote these as an essential component of a new model of global development with sustainability at its core. In Guyana’s case, it is about harnessing the value of the country’s ecosystem services to build a long-term, low-carbon diversification opportunity.
Guyana, along with a number of other countries, gave its full support at the United Nations 26th Conference of Parties (COP26), held in Glasgow, Scotland, to play its part in protecting against climate change,
In fact, over 130 leaders, representing more than 90 per cent of the world’s forests, have committed to work together to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 in the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use. Countries have also committed to the funding pledge of US$12 billion between 2021 and 2025 to finance forest-related matters.
The LCDS was first launched on June 8, 2009, with the revised version being published in May 2010. This version was subsequently launched in March 2013. The new draft is intended to continue and build upon the work started in 2008.
Between the period of 2009 to 2015, Guyana earned US$212.52 million in forest service payments from Norway, to be invested in the LCDS. This has created low-carbon jobs; enabled Amerindian villages to receive legal titles for communal lands; rehabilitated the Cunha Canal to protect against flooding; and started to equip Amerindian and hinterland communities with renewable energy, digital infrastructure, and sustainable livelihood opportunities.
The Government also plans to put at least 8 million carbon credits on the market for sale by July of this year. A carbon credit is a tradable permit or certificate that allows the holder of the credit the right to emit a stated tonnage of carbon dioxide or an equivalent of another greenhouse gas.
Countries and companies that exceed their permitted limits can purchase carbon credits from other nations that have low emissions such as Guyana. Guyana’s 18.4 million hectares of largely pristine forest stores approximately 5.31 gigatons of carbon.
Back in April 2021, President Dr Irfaan Ali had announced that Guyana signed a letter of intent with US-based NGO, Emergent Finance Accelerated Inc, to market the country’s carbon credits through a credit contract – a deal that could earn the country millions of US dollars. (G3)