Guyana invited to attend G20 Summit in Brazil

Guyana has been invited to attend the upcoming 2024 Group of 20 (G20) Summit, which will take place from July 12-14 in Brazil, to present its model for forest preservation.

President, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali made the announcement, during a press briefing following the Guyana-Brazil bilateral talks, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), Liliendaal, on Thursday.

“We had the opportunity to update Brazil on the leadership role we are playing in relation to our forests, and deploying the forests as an important global tool in the fight against climate change. We have agreed that at the G20, Guyana will be invited to make a presentation on its model, but more importantly on discussing with other forested countries in defining a global model that can be taken to COP29 and COP30,” the head of state disclosed.

The G20, which is made up of 19 countries and the European Union (EU), is an intergovernmental forum that works to address major issues related to the global economy.

This year, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will chair the summit, continuing the conversation on finance and sustainable infrastructure, among other topics.

The Brazilian leader has set his sights on highlighting the plight of the developing world, reducing hunger and poverty, and curbing climate change, as the cornerstone of the country’s G20 presidency.

At the media conference on Thursday, President Lula recognised that Guyana has undertaken a tremendous endeavour to protect its forests, noting that the summit will provide the enabling platform to advance the global discussion on forest preservation.

Guyana is already emerging as a leader on this front, taking the bold step to merge financial incentives with conservation efforts.

In 2022, the country signed a historic carbon credit agreement for at least US$750 million with the Hess Corporation.

The government has pledged some US$2 million of its carbon credit funds to a Caribbean climate adaptation fund, signalling its firm commitment to combatting the climate crisis.

Additionally, the country has been issued the world’s first carbon credits that will be eligible for use by airlines to counter pollution. 

Now, almost 5 million credits that support Guyana’s rainforests can be purchased by airlines to cover their obligations during the first phase of the U.N.-brokered CORSIA deal, which starts this year.