McCormack/GHRA were noticeably silent during testing, defining period in Guyana’s history

Dear Editor,
Guyana has listed its Carbon Credits on the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART*) platform, and stands to earn over US$300M; and yet, a group calling itself Policy Forum Guyana (PFG) asserts that Guyana has “tattered credibility on climate issues”.
A cursory examination of the release from this ‘group’ poses serious questions of its credibility, motives, and its very existence. The release, dated 15th Jan 2022, begins, “The Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) believes”, but is on a PFG letterhead, but the address is the same as GHRA’s (56B Austin Place & Hadfield St). There is no signature on the PFG release, to add to the confusion.
We already know that the GHRA is the exclusive domain of Mike McCormack and Merle Mendonca, and the fact that GHRA and PFG also share the same phone number (227-4911) adds to the perception that PFG is a shell for McCormack’s shill. Who knows, maybe Merle answers the phone for PFG and Mike for GHRA…
To refute the arguments made by McCormack in the PFG/GHRA release is not a difficult task; Guyana has listed 5.31 Gigatons (5,310,000,000,000 kg) of Carbon on ART, which is a voluntary international initiative that, among other things, serves as a global quality benchmark for forest emission reductions that can enter fungible carbon offset markets. Guyana’s recent listing of Carbon Credits was subject to rigorous scientific examination before listing.
PFG/GHRA simply spout baseless assertions, and seem to be grasping for relevance in a post-Granger world. Guyana remains a leader in the ‘Green’ world; our Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) is the ‘gold standard for global development, and a read of the Das Gupta Review (2021) reveals how much Guyana has influenced the world’s thinking on the environment.
Guyana remains a leader in the global environmental arena despite its entry into the small group of oil-producing nations. The small group of naysayers in our midst, who claim to be ‘environmentalists’ and would rather we not produce oil, sit in Georgetown with an abundance of electricity powered by diesel generators (GPL and private) and have no plan or clue on how to improve the lives of the majority of Guyanese. There must be a special circle in hell for people who have theirs and want to pull up the ladder.
The GHRA/PFG/McCormack views on the domestic policies of Brazilian President Bolsonaro are best addressed to the Brazilian people, who enjoy the democratic right to choose their Government without five-month delays and attempts to steal the elections, as the Granger Administration did in 2020. McCormack/PFG/GHRA were noticeably silent during that testing and defining period in Guyana’s history. GHRA/PFG or whatever they choose to call themselves need to work on earning some credibility and on arriving at logical positions based on fact, not mere conjecture. Guyana’s status as an oil-producing nation does not automatically translate into her becoming an environmental rogue. The (updated) LCDS 2030 document is a worthy read for anyone wanting to make a meaningful contribution to Guyana’s environmental policies.

Sincerely,
Robin Singh