The composition of the air we breathe has been changing for years. There are sources of toxic emissions all around us. Every year, according to the World Health Organization, some seven million people die from air pollution, making it the world’s biggest environmental killer. Then there are the dire effects of global warming, driven largely by an increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Guyana is among the few countries that have been leading the fight against climate change and its impact on global warming.
Some years ago, when Guyana was at the UN Climate Change Conference, it signed, along with 195 countries, the first comprehensive, legally binding pledge to reduce emissions. We are speaking specifically to the CTEC Conference in Barcelona. Unfortunately, since then, a few countries have failed to honour their own commitments, but in many European countries, the commitment to clean the air has opened new initiatives that are cleaning the air.
It was former President Bharrat Jagdeo who, in 2009, placed Guyana on the green energy map when he spearheaded the launching of the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), which has resulted in Guyana being eligible for US$250 million for green projects.
In November 2021, President Dr Irfaan Ali had announced that the new and expanded LCDS programme seeks to create a new low-carbon economy in Guyana, by establishing incentives that 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.
Today, some 15 years after the initial launch of the LCDS, Indigenous and hinterland communities in Guyana are now enjoying access to additional funds to propel their development with the US$22.5M in carbon credit funds which were paid to Guyana. Some 240 Indigenous communities will receive payments ranging from $10 million to $35 million. These are funds Guyana earned from the sale of carbon credits.
United Nations Resident Coordinator to Guyana, Yesim Oruç, in one of her World Environment Day messages, had said that Guyana’s revised Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030 (LCDS 2030) is more important now than ever as the world continues to battle the effects of climate change.
To quote her: “First, on climate change itself, and the race to global net-zero, Guyana’s commitment to adopting carbon development model, described in the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS 2030), is now more important than ever. Specifically, Guyana’s ambitions on energy are crucial. If LCDS targets are achieved, it would see the country meet a tenfold increase in demand for electricity supply by 2040 whilst retaining greenhouse gas emissions at 2018 levels. This would be an extraordinary example of how economic growth can be decoupled from carbon emissions.”
Guyana’s ability to market its Low Carbon Development Strategy also came in for praise from former Colombian President Ivan Duque. He had made it clear that with the volume of initiatives Guyana is trying to achieve, including the energy transition and fulfilling development needs, financing is imperative.
There is no doubt that our Indigenous communities are regarded as the guardians of the country’s biodiversity, and this is of key importance to Guyana.
Guyana is already poised to lead the Net Zero by 2050 Agenda through its robust plans for energy security and renewable generation.
Every year, during hurricane season, these hurricanes roar through some Caribbean countries with high winds and dangerous storm surges, causing massive flooding. The issue of climate change is to the fore. In many instances, these hurricanes cause expansive damages to the infrastructure of Caribbean islands.
Over the past few years, there has been much talk about climate change, and the devastating impact it is having and is likely to have on communities and the world as a whole.
However, we in Guyana must take pride in the significant contribution that our forest is making on a global scale.
