Global systems have failed vulnerable nations – Pres Ali in call for bold climate action

…says Forest and Climate Leaders Partnership will boost deforestation fight

During an impassioned speech in which he called out global institutions including the United Nations (UN) for its flagging forest action advocacy, President Dr Irfaan Ali made it clear that the time has come for Guyana and the region to create its own platforms and partner with those willing to turn words into action.
The Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP), which is being co-chaired by Guyana and United Kingdom (UK), was opened on Tuesday. According to President Ali, too much is at stake for this initiative to fail.

“Guyana and the UK, we’re placing a lot of resources and effort behind this initiative. We cannot afford, for this initiative to fail. So, we have no choice but to accelerate our activism, accelerate our work and expand the partnership.”
“But we’re doing so at a time when economic opportunities cannot be the opportunity cost of saving the forests. We have to demonstrate how the forest can stimulate economic and livelihood opportunities, improving the model so that livelihood does not come as an opportunity cost for keeping the forest,” the President said.
According to President Ali, the need for countries most at risk of climate change to accelerate their activism, is made all the more pressing by the fact that global systems including the UN and the UN Conference of Parties (COP) are failing these smaller nations.
“We have to create our own spaces. And drive our own traffic. And bring attention to the issues that matter to us, ourselves. The global platform that allows us to do this has failed us. Unfortunately, the UN system is failing us. You go to COP, it’s the same thing.”
“It’s up to the 32 of us, to decide how we make it work for ourselves. To face that challenge, the FCLP must help elevate forest action to the highest political levels, so that action on forest is seen as core national development. Not just environmental policy. The FCLP must prioritise its own work. Ruthlessly,” President Ali added.
FCLP is an initiative that brings together delegates from dozens of countries around the globe, as they discuss forest and climate priorities and come up with strategies to champion forests as the nature-based solutions to climate change that they are.
With the 2025 COP30 summit slated to be held in Brazil, from November 10-21, 2025, it is expected that the Guiana Shields will feature prominently in discussions. With more than 80 per cent of Guyana being covered by forest, the country also has a significant role to play in these discussions.
Through Guyana’s first Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), which was unveiled in 2009, and under the leadership of then President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, Guyana has been able to secure a deal with Norway for up to US$250 million in an agreement that simply meant that Guyana had to continue preserving its dense forests and use the resources for continued mitigation and adaptation efforts.
It has been envisioned that Guyana can sequester approximately 19.5 gigatons of carbon with its standing forest. This strategy thus plays a crucial role in the global fight against climate change.
As a result, the Government of Guyana, through the Expanded LCDS 2030, managed to sign a deal with Hess Corporation for up to US$750M for 30 per cent of the carbon credits Guyana’s forest offers.
Since the signing of that deal in December 2022, Guyana has managed to support Amerindian communities in the development of sustainable projects that would serve as new sources of revenue.
Also, sums of money have been allocated to significant adaptation measures, including the construction of several new Hope-like canals and other flood prevention works in Regions Three, Five, and Six.
These and many other initiatives form part of the Government’s plan to ensure that science and technology are used to improve the welfare of the citizenry.