‘Shameless’ – Jagdeo as APNU’s promises lean on PPP’s LCDS

Pioneer of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, has deemed promises by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Prime Ministerial Candidate Juretha Fernandes to utilise monies from the LCDS fund as “dishonest and shameless” since her party was never in support of the strategy.

“It is amazing how dishonest and shameless people can be… They have not been supportive of the LCDS…but now they want to use the money from the LCDS that they were against,” he said during his weekly press conference on Thursday.

Fernandes recently promised that her party will increase transfers of Guyana’s carbon credit sales to indigenous communities to 50% and would ensure that the monies are transferred directly to citizens.

Guyana began selling forest carbon to companies like Apple and Hess Corporation and some airlines under the LCDS 2030, allowing those companies to invest in environmental actions that compensate for the harmful carbon their operations emit into the atmosphere.

Hess Corporation was to first to support the venture, buying one-third of the carbon credits issued to Guyana at a cost of about US$750 million.

In 2023, Hess paid US$150 million from which 15% (GY$4.7 billion) was disbursed to 242 Amerindian villages.

Last year, when Guyana received US$87.5 million, President Dr Irfaan Ali announced that instead of 15%, indigenous communities would get 26.5% (GY$4.84 b billion)

As protectors of the rainforest, the villagers are tasked with determining how the monies are spent.

The 242 villages across Guyana have already implemented over 800 transformative projects catering to sectors such as tourism, agriculture, infrastructure, industrial arts and crafts, and income-generating ventures, all aimed at advancing sustainable Amerindian livelihoods.

On Thursday, Jagdeo reiterated that before the funds are spent, “the people in the villages have to go to a public meeting, they have to send us the minutes of the public meeting that was held and they have to decide on the projects it must go to.”

Jagdeo reminded that the APNU and its associates never supported the LCDS.

In fact, he pointed out that the APNU during its term in office from 2015 to 2020, instead launched the Green State Development Strategy (GSDS) which failed to earn any revenue.

“They were touting that Granger had this great plan, the Green State Development Strategy (GSDS). It didn’t earn a cent, it was going nowhere, we had to spend the money to develop it, money that we left from the early LCDS that they were opposed to,” he noted.

First launched in 2009, the LCDS sets out the government’s vision for inclusive, sustainable development that creates a model low-carbon economy.

At the centre of the strategy is the objective of creating economic incentives for Guyana’s forest preservation, in order to offset loss of income that would have otherwise been gained from the clearing of the forests for agriculture, mining, infrastructure, and other uses. Essentially, ensuring that forests are worth more alive than dead.

The strategy was looked at as a global model for promoting broad-based economic development while also avoiding deforestation-led development. The strategy places emphasis on investments in indigenous communities, job creation, sustainability planning and initiatives that seek to protect the coast and Hinterland from climate change.

In the first major accomplishment under this initiative, Guyana and Norway signed a US$250 million agreement enabling Guyana to earn payments for forest climate services.

In 2022, the LCDS 2030 was laid in the National Assembly following seven months of consultations. In December 2022 another landmark achievement was accomplished under the LCDS when Guyana inked the historic US$750M multi-year agreement for the sale of high-quality carbon credits to Hess Corporation.

In addition to investing in indigenous communities, the earnings are expended towards safeguarding the coastline of Guyana, helping communities to mitigate flooding and adapt climate smart initiatives.

Against this backdrop, Jagdeo argued that the APNU is “talking nonsense”.

“Just look at the shamelessness of this – they are counting on using the money from an initiative they were opposed to,” he expressed.