…as allocation process for carbon credits’ payments advances
Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Minister, Gail Teixeira on behalf of Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh on Monday presented a Supplementary Bill to the National Assembly relating to programme components of the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030 to be financed from carbon credit inflows.
The Finance Ministry said on Monday that work began in 2009 with the original Low Carbon Development Strategy – the first such strategy from any developing country in the world.
“A national consultation from October 2021 to July 2022 saw the original LCDS expanded and enhanced, culminating in the endorsement of the National Assembly and then the finalisation of LCDS 2030. In November 2022, Guyana issued the world’s first jurisdiction-scale, sovereign carbon credits as the next phase in Guyana’s creation of a global model for forest climate services,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement.
This, the Ministry said, was followed shortly afterwards by the world’s first sale of such credits in global carbon markets.
These carbon credit inflows, the Ministry said, are being allocated to programme components of the Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030 and come on the heels of the Government’s engagement in further consultation over the last three months to determine the structure of the two disbursement channels outlined in the LCDS 2030.
Advancing low carbon development while addressing the impacts of climate change is a core focus of this investment, and attention will be aimed at supporting the strong stance that Guyana has maintained nationally and globally on forest governance and management, and forest legality.
Guyana’s exemplary forest management systems, the Ministry said, strong codes of practice, and maintenance high forest cover and low deforestation rates have been recognised by programmes such as the European Union’s Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade Initiative. The Ministry said that the Government will continue to work with all stakeholders in the implementation of these programmes – implementation that will see this first series of investment made under LCDS 2030, bringing about impactful results on sustainable livelihoods and low carbon development across all spheres of society.
