Sale of carbon credits: “These are exciting times for Guyana” – Iwokrama

…as historic agreement hailed by Private Sector

Guyana has come in for more praise over its historic certification and then sale of its carbon credits to Hess Corporation, with the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) hailing the milestone.
On Wednesday, GCCI congratulated the Government and noted that the sale of the carbon credits for the next 10 years would allow Guyana to be compensated for keeping its pristine rainforests intact.
“GCCI understands that the purchase by Hess will be for 2.5 million credits per year for the years 2016-2030. The purchases will occur in the period 2022-2032. GCCI applauds the Government for making Guyana the first country to complete the ART process (Architecture for REDD+ Transactions) for generating high-integrity, Paris Agreement-aligned carbon credits that will allow Guyana to access market-based finance to continue to implement forest stewardship strategies.”

It was pointed out by GCCI that after the 2009 Norway REDD+ agreement and COP27, the Chamber sees this second agreement as an indication that highly developed nations are increasingly recognizing the importance of forest climate services.
They also lauded the provisions outlined in the Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030 for 30 per cent of the minimum $750 million that Guyana will earn from the Hess deal to go towards Indigenous Peoples’ communities.
“With rising sea levels, warmer temperatures, and more adverse weather conditions, climate change is evident. In June 2021, Guyana experienced severe flooding in several regions, adversely affecting the agriculture and infrastructure sectors, and compromising food security. This agreement assists Guyana in building its resilience to climate change and transitioning to a sustainably stable economy,” GCCI said.

Iwokrama
Not only is the multi-year US$750 million agreement with Hess Corporation for the purchase of 37.5 million credits a historic one, Guyana is in fact the first country to conclude the ART process out of 15 jurisdictions that have so far entered the ART pipeline.
Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development on Wednesday also praised the development.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Iwokrama, Dane Gobin, noted that these are exciting times for Guyana as it continues to mobilise its forest services in the fight against climate change.
“These are exciting times for Guyana as it continues to mobilise its forest services in the fight against climate change.” The 1,000,000-acre Iwokrama Forest is an integral part of Guyana’s demonstration of how tropical forests can be conserved and utilised sustainably for local, national and global benefit.”
Gobin contends that the Guyana-Hess Agreement signals, finally, recognition by the Private Sector of the substantial value of ecosystem services, and the urgent need to sustain them.
According to the statement, the Iwokrama International Centre remains committed to supporting the successful implementation of the Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030. They noted that the Government of Guyana’s continued support to the Centre’s work is highly valued, and yet again underscores Guyana’s leadership role in sustaining nature and supporting socio-economic development.

ART
On Monday, the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) in a statement said that it had issued the world’s first TREES credits to Guyana. According to ART, following completion of an independent validation and verification process and approval by the ART Board of Directors, ART has issued 33.47 million TREES credits to Guyana for the five-year period from 2016 to 2020.
These serialised credits, listed on ART’s public registry, are available to buyers on the global carbon market, including for use by airlines for compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s global emissions reduction programme, CORSIA, as well as for use towards voluntary corporate climate commitments.
It was also noted that Guyana’s completion of the ART process paves the way for other Governments that are looking to receive carbon market finance for success in protecting and restoring forests. Currently, 14 other countries and large sub-national jurisdictions are working towards their own issuances of TREES credits.
Chair of the ART Board, Frances Seymour, congratulated the Government of Guyana and the many domestic stakeholder groups who contributed to this achievement, which recognises the success the country has had in protecting its forests.
Additionally, Executive Director of the ART Secretariat, Mary Grady, had said that new approaches such as incentivising jurisdictions to protect their forests are needed against the threat of the permanent loss of earth’s last intact forests. (G3)