World Environment Day – “The time to act is now” – Pres Ali issues global call to urgency for climate action 

As Guyana joins in observing World Environment Day 2026 on Friday, President Dr Irfaan Ali has sounded a call for global stakeholders to come together in order to confront the existential threats that climate change poses.
“There could never be a more urgent moment than now for nations to demonstrate ambition in confronting the global crisis. Climate change is here. We see it in rising sea levels. We witness it in the raging storms that lead to devastating floods and landslides. We experience it through prolonged seasons of drought and raging forest fires. Nature is sending a message to humanity. The question is whether humanity is listening enough,” President Ali declared in a video message on World Environment Day.

To this end, the Guyanese leader issued the call for collective global action in combating climate change. He noted, “World Environment Day 2026 must become a call to urgency. The planet cannot wait. The time for hesitation has passed. The time to act is now. So, I call upon all in the global community to come together and act together as we confront this existential threat to our planet and humanity.”
Similar sentiments were also shared by United Nations (UN) Secretary General António Guterres, who noted that warning signals are everywhere with rising temperatures causing irreparable harm to not just the earth but human lives as well.
“The past eleven years have been the eleven hottest on record. And the damage goes far beyond rising temperatures – from polluted air to degraded land, collapsing ecosystems, and vanishing biodiversity. Harming health, destroying homes and deepening hunger,” the UN SG noted in his World Environmental Day message.

Moment to act
With the world heading for a temporary overshoot above 1.5 degrees, Secretary General António Guterres underscored the need to reduce this figure – something which he emphasised requires cutting global carbon emissions.
“Our task is to make that overshoot as small, as short, and as safe as possible – and rapidly bring temperatures back down. That means slashing emissions. Accelerating a just transition away from fossil fuels and towards renewables – the only sustainable path to lower costs and to real energy security. Cutting methane – one of the fastest, cheapest ways to limit near-term warming.”
“Protecting forests, land, and seas. Helping communities adapt to the devastating impacts already here. And it means fulfilling climate finance promises to developing countries – to save lives, protect livelihoods, and strengthen economies. This is the moment to act – for our environment and for our future,” the UN Secretary General stressed.
Already, Guyana has stepped up and taken on the responsibilities of fighting climate change through the protection of its vast forest. 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.

Global leadership
Guyana is currently earning nearly US$1 billion from selling just over 30 per cent of its accredited forest carbon. This, according to President Ali, coupled with other initiatives, has positioned Guyana as a global environmental leader.
These include the Global Biodiversity Alliance that was launched in July 2025 and aims at strengthening international cooperation and protecting the world’s biodiversity, as well as its model Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS 2030).
“Guyana, a small state, is providing leadership, an example in the global fight to protect the world’s environment. Through its Low Carbon Development Strategy, Guyana has demonstrated that development and environment responsibility can go hand in hand. Through this strategy, Guyana proves that a nation can grow while protecting nature.
“As Guyana celebrates the 60th anniversary of its independence, it proudly informs its sovereignty over its natural resources, but sovereignty also brings responsibility. Guyana is committed to deploying these resources in service of the greatest existential threat of our time, climate change. That responsibility cannot be postponed to another generation or deferred to another decade. The decision we make today will determine the future security, prosperity, and survival of our people,” the Guyanese Head of State declared.

Guyana’s leadership in conservation
Meanwhile, global advocate for environmental protection and sustainability, former Colombian President Iván Duque, has lauded Guyana’s and President Ali’s leadership in biodiversity conservation, promoting sustainable policies, and involving communities and citizens in its low carbon development strategy.
“Today, I have to highlight the leadership of President Ali from Guyana, not only because he has been the advocate of a Global Biodiversity Alliance that aims to have smart green finance that can rapidly mobilise capital so that we can effectively build market-driven, nature-based solutions,” he stated.
President Duque went on to recognise that Guyana is pushing forward an agenda where green jobs, sustainability, and the protection of biodiversity go hand in hand with the expansion of the economy, reducing the gaps in society, and effectively enhancing a new generation of entrepreneurs that will bring the country to a next level of development.
“The World Environment Day is an opportunity to celebrate this process,” he contended.
Guyana is seeking to further cement its environmental leadership status on the global stage by bidding to host COP35 in 2030.