Even as Guyana is aggressively developing its petroleum resources to achieve wealth and prosperity, it is committed to its responsibility as a steward of the environment.
Very shortly, the country’s high-quality carbon for the years 2021 to 2025 will soon be certified by the Architecture for REDD+Transactions.
Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, who was previously recognised for his commitment to the environment, made the disclosure as he addressed day two of the ongoing Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo 2024 Tuesday at the Marriott Hotel, Kingston.
Only when the carbon credits are certified by the Architecture for REDD+Transactions, can Guyana enter the global carbon market.
“We anticipate as soon as they’re certified, that we will be able to get into the market,” the vice president disclosed in his presentation.
Under ART-TREES, every year, credits are validated and verified to globally recognised standards, including adherence to Cancun safeguards, and then issued for trade on the global carbon market.
In December 2022, the government welcomed the ART Board approval and ART Secretariat issuance of 33.47 million tons of verified Carbon credits for the period 2016 to 2020 and was the first country to receive a jurisdictional scale programme to be approved by ART for the issuance of TREEs credits.
Following that monumental achievement, the government moved into a US$750 million agreement with global energy giant – Hess Corporation – which will see the company purchasing 2.5 million carbon credits annually.
In 2023, Guyana received its first payment of US$150 million with 15 per cent (US$22.5M) disbursed to 242 Amerindian, riverine and remote communities across Guyana, leading to the implementation of 811 economic and social projects.
The remaining 85% of the payment will fund climate adaptation measures, and Guyana has already received $37.5 million in carbon credit payment, with another $50 million expected later in the year.
“The deal with Hess I have heard people say that we didn’t evolve from that deal on the panel [discussions] and let me say that we have some of the most robust forest carbon in the world. In fact, we’re the only country in the world that has the jurisdictional scale certification,” he stated in response to critics
Dr Jagdeo emphasised Guyana’s commitment to maintaining net zero carbon emissions even as it becomes a major energy supplier, producing 1.5 million barrels of oil per day.
He reminded the audience that Guyana has one of the lowest deforestation rates in the world and has some of the most robust forest carbon in the world, making it well-positioned to balance economic development and environmental sustainability. [DPI]
