The Peoples Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government has been forced to pick up where they left off in 2015 in the areas of environmental sustainability and economic growth since the previous administration was unable to execute an effective strategy.
This was the view shared by General Secretary of the PPP Dr Bharrat Jagdeo during his weekly press conference at Freedom House on Thursday.
Dr Jagdeo lambasted the former administration for its haphazard approach towards the issue of environmental sustainability. He said their strategy, the Green State Development Strategy, only accrued minimal benefits during its implementation.
“He [President Granger] planted some trees in Bartica, two trees in Mabaruma that he flew in to plant, and that was their [strategy]. [He] took the solar panel that we bought for Amerindian communities [and] put it on State House. That was their Green State Strategy,” he chided.
Contrasting this with the track record of the PPP/C administration, Dr Jagdeo highlighted the hundreds of millions of US dollars earned through Guyana’s Expanded Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).
A significant portion of these funds have been directed to Amerindian communities for the execution of 1500 sustainable economic projects.
This has amounted to some $9.6 billion in the last few years, with an additional $4 billion to be injected this year.
The remainder has be set aside for climate-proof infrastructure, such as the construction of pump stations, kokers, and Hope-like canals.
These initiatives, he said, have repositioned Guyana as a global leader on green growth and sustainability.
“I’m extremely pleased that we are also giving leadership in this regard globally,” he said.
Just last week, the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP) launched a multi-day conference where delegates from around the world gathered to analyze Guyana’s policy document on incentivizing its environmental credentials.
The FCLP, originally initiated in 2022, comprises 32 countries with immense forest cover that collectively advocate for climate financing to enhance economic advancement.
Guyana and the United Kingdom are currently co-chairing the organisation.
Dr Jagdeo revealed that government is now in the process of exploring whether Guyana can also receive financing from the preservation of its rich biodiversity.
“[Considering] our success with forest carbon-related financing, we’re now trying to see if the same approach could be used in biodiversity financing,” the general secretary, who also performs the duties of vice president, posited.
Notwithstanding this, Guyana continues to be a global leader in forest conservation, with the LCDS 2030 demonstrating real results in climate finance.
It is the first country in the world to issue ART-TREES credits, issuing 33.4 million credits in late 2022.
Thus far, Guyana has sold about 30% of its credits, earning a minimum of US$750 million in a sale to Hess Corporation.
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