“We’re waiting to get the right price” – VP Jagdeo on carbon credits sale

…says Govt not desperate to sell remaining 70% of forest carbon

With approximately 70 per cent of the carbon sink in the country’s forest still remaining, the Guyana Government is not in a rush to find new markets and is waiting to get higher prices.
“We’re not in any hurry to dispose of this 70 per cent of [carbon] credits that we have because we’re waiting to get the right price. We’re not in any desperate situation where we have to accept anything that’s on the market. We will only go into premium markets but you also have a global market that influences the price paid on the premium markets. So, we’re not desperate to dispose of it,” Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo stated during a press conference last week at the ruling People’s Progressive Party’s Freedom House headquarters.

He was at the time responding to a question from Guyana Times on whether talks between Guyana and international airlines are advancing under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), which is the global emission reduction programme of the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) for airlines to use for the 2024-2026 voluntary phase.
Back in February of this year, the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) issued Guyana with 7.14 million carbon credits dating back to 2021, marking the first time carbon credits have been issued that can be used by airlines to meet their compliance requirements in the first phase of CORSIA, which began on January 1, 2024.
In June, President Dr. Irfaan Ali had disclosed that since the issuance of these certified credits, the PPP/C Administration has engaged in “commercial discussions” with several major airlines to sell Guyana’s eligible carbon credits for that market.
ART had said that the 7.14 million 2021 vintage carbon credits or TREES (The REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard) credits were issued in recognition of Guyana’s successful efforts to reduce emissions from forest loss and degradation and maintain “one of the world’s most intact tropical forests”.
Meanwhile, in a statement from the Guyana Government at the time, the Vice President had assured future buyers that these CORSIA-eligible credits were verified through a rigorous scientific process aimed at ensuring that all social and environmental safeguards were followed.
“Guyana’s CORSIA-eligible issuance marks the latest milestone in a journey that we began in 2009 when we set out a vision for forging a low-carbon economy in Guyana – while also building a model for the world on how tropical forests can be maintained. The ART-TREES standard, recognised by ICAO, provided the basis to build the bridge needed between forest countries’ work within the United Nations REDD+ framework and Private Sector buyers,” Jagdeo had stated.
In August 2023, VP Jagdeo, who during his presidency was labeled as one of the “Heroes of the Environment” in 2008 and given the “Champion of the Earth” award in 2010 for his visionary Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), had told this newspaper that there were “broad interests” from major players in the international aviation sector that are exploring buying the country’s high-quality carbon credits.
In addition to its rich biodiversity and ecosystem, Guyana’s total forest cover of some 18.4 million hectares stores more than 19.5 gigatonnes of carbon and removes some 154 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere annually.
In December 2022, Guyana signed a historic contract with Hess Corporation for the sale of 33.7 million of its high-quality certified carbon credits – a deal that saw the nation earning US$750 million for just 30 per cent of its forest. In the agreement, a rate of US$15 per tonne of carbon was secured and the Guyana Government has allocated 15 per cent or $4.7 billion towards Amerindian development.
Already, more than 800 projects that run the gamut from tourism to agriculture are currently being pursued utilising the $4.7 billion, which was given to the 242 Indigenous villages as part of their share of the US$150 million carbon credits sale. This year, government has increased the allocation to these communities to 25.6 per cent of the 2024 earnings, which will see them getting $4.84 billion.
Last year, it was revealed that Guyana has the potential to raise at least US$2.5 billion from its carbon credits over the next 10 years. According to the Vice President, in a presentation at COP28, Guyana can raise US$2.5 billion over the next 10 years, by tapping into favourable market upsides.
However, during last week’s press conference, VP Jagdeo pointed out that since talks on advancing carbon trading mechanisms failed at COP28 in Dubai, the prices for carbon credits have plummeted.
“…At the last COP, because there was no agreement to move Article 6 along, which catered for the development of markets, and that I think was a setback for carbon pricing and particularly forest carbon.”
“So, it’s good that we managed to get our bilateral deal [with Hess]. We’re having a hard time getting people to match those prices now because in the voluntary markets globally, what we sold for [US] 15, 20 and 25 dollars, it’s sometimes between [US] one to two dollars. That’s what’s happening in the voluntary markets,” he told this publication.
It is for this reason, the Vice President stressed, that government is not in a rush to sell the country’s remaining carbon credits and will wait for better prices on the global market. (G8)