Message from His Excellency Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, on the occasion of World Earth Day 2022
Today, Guyana joins the International Community in celebrating World Earth Day under the theme “Invest in Our Planet”. Earth Day is celebrated to demonstrate support for environmental protection. It allows us to educate, reflect and take actions to address environmental issues. It reminds us that the environment we live in requires our protection.
The environment is our life support and natural capital, and from it, we can forge a stronger and cleaner future. The healthier our ecosystems are, the healthier the planet – and its people. In recent decades environmental problems have increased as a result of human activities. We are at risk from climate change, pollution, flooding, and drought. Therefore, investing in the restoration and protection of nature is critically important in helping to combat climate change, stem biodiversity loss, and slow the depletion of essential resources such as freshwater and soil.
As we examine our economic approaches, it is important to invest in support and innovative solutions through new technologies and new markets. It is also essential to invest in smarter regulation and innovative business models to help support a low-carbon trajectory, one that not only has a reduced impact on the climate and our natural resources, but also works with the environment and harnesses its natural capital as a source of sustainable, inclusive growth.
Urgent action is needed to safeguard our planet, our ecosystems, our soils, forests and waterways. Guyana has the second-highest percentage of forest cover on earth and is working with partners to sustain 99.5% of it while building the foundation for a new low-carbon, ecosystem economy.
The Government of Guyana is committed to supporting environmental protection and delivering global and national environmental commitments for a transformative and sustainable economy through the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030.
Guyana’s LCDS sets out a vision for inclusive and sustainable development while simultaneously maintaining the country’s forests, to help meet some of the most urgent challenges the world faces through the creation of incentives for a low-carbon economy; protection against climate change and biodiversity loss and stimulate future growth for clean energy and low carbon development.
This Earth day, let us act, innovate and implement by reducing pollution, reducing climate change impacts and conserving and restoring ecosystems. We need to invest in our plant and build a prosperous and equitable future.
