Minister of State Joseph Harmon has announced that Guyana is working to reduce the amount of carbon that is produced and released into our atmosphere, adding that this will result in Guyana becoming a decarbonised state. This announcement came during talks with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), as those entities provided technical support and advice to transform the current Sustainable Development Goals into the Green State Development Strategy (GSDS).
The talks, which were held in the form of a workshop, were hosted by the Ministry of the Presidency through its Department of Environment. In attendance at the workshop were participants representing the Inter-Ministerial and Multistakeholder Advisory Committee, members of the seven GSDS expert groups, GSDS consultants, partners and senior Government representatives.
Minister of State, Joseph Harmon
On the agenda was the outlining of the first draft of the GSDS Theory of Change; participants were guided on the multifaceted approach of mainstreaming the 2030 agenda, inclusive of the use and application of their three key tools. Those tools are Theory of Change: systematic thinking; multi-actor approaches; and identification of accelerators to prioritise policy interventions with a bigger impact.
The proceedings of the workshop were facilitated by UNDP’s Regional Policy Adviser Gonzalo Pizarro, Regional Policy Adviser on Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development, Ivan Gonzalez de Alba; Agenda 2030 and Development Planning and Sustainable Development and Resilience.
In his remarks, Minister Harmon reiterated Government’s commitment to the process, highlighting the alignment of the SDGs with the GSDS as a crucial policy area. “Guyana aspires to transition into a decarbonised and resource efficient economy that values and integrates the multi-ethnicity of our country and enhances the quality of life for all Guyanese. Guyana’s commitment to the 2030 Agenda is unequivocal,” he stated.
Meanwhile, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, Mikiko Tanaka stated that the 17 SDGs are in itself transformational and once combined in the GSDS, countless benefits can be derived. “Guyana’s Green State Development Strategy is for Guyana but is also a contribution to the world. We all need to work together in broader and deeper partnerships that will let us foster social progress, protect the environment, drive economic growth and create a more just, stable and peaceful world,” Tanaka explained.
