Guyana’s participation in COP26 will restore country as a leading example for net-carbon sink – President Ali
His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali has promulgated that Guyana’s participation in the upcoming United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 26th Conference of Parties (COP26), will re-establish the country as a leading example of a net-carbon sink economy.
Dr. Ali will join global leaders at the hallmark climate event, which will be launched on Sunday, October 31, and will continue until November 12 in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom (UK).
“Guyana will be participating fully, both at the policy and the political level and at the technical level. The focus for COP26 will be on four themes: including enhanced country commitments on forest and land use, including reducing deforestation and accelerating forest restoration; scaling finance and investment including private sector finance; sharing actions towards sustainable production and consumption; and four, support for local people and stakeholders.
We intend to signal our commitment as every other nation, that we all have a responsibility to climate change, but it must be differentiated.”
At COP26, President Ali will champion the recently launched draft Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030, which promotes the sale and preservation of carbon from Guyana’s pristine forests, while still aligning the oil and gas industry with the de-carbonisation of the globe.
President Ali added that Guyana will also endorse the Glasgow declaration on forest and land use which includes strengthening the country’s efforts for forest conservation, ecosystem and accelerated restoration; promoting development policies and strategies that foster sustainable development; reducing vulnerability; building resilience and enhancing resilient rural livelihoods; greater investments in food security; appropriate technology and infrastructure for hinterland communities and redesigned agriculture policies and programmes to incentivise investment and expansion.
On the side of renewable energy goals, the President pointed out that the government will outline a “realistic and achievable” emission reduction ambition for Guyana. These targets and ambitions, he stated, will be in keeping with Guyana’s energy strategy and programming of an energy mix of solar, wind, water and gas-to-energy.
The President’s statement was in reference to the former APNU+AFC Government’s ambitious and unattainable goal of utilising 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025.
“When I say realistic and achievable, we can’t say that Guyana will be 100 per cent on renewable energy or 2025 or by 2030, when there is not a single project in the renewable energy pipeline. If we were to achieve that, then we should have already had, nearing completion, the Amalia Falls Hydro Project and major investment- hundreds of millions of dollars in investment in other areas in alternative energy, including natural gas. You have to be realistic with the timetable,” the President iterated.
President Ali said that he will also address revenues of accessibility to financing and the mitigation and adaption of Small Island Development States (SIDs,) as well as initiatives to strengthen and expand the market for the sale of carbon credit.
He said Guyana intends to renew its call for the implementation of the commitment made to the fulfilment of the US$100 billion pledge under the 2019 Climate Action Summit.
During bilateral engagements at the event, Dr. Ali will also promote Guyana to investors and major financial institutions.