Last week the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon launched a new high level group aimed at addressing climate change. Heading the group will be the UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. The aim is to mobilise financing to aid developing countries in order to combat the effects of rising temperatures that they are experiencing.
In December 2009 Secretary Ban observed that “All countries have agreed to work towards a common long-term goal to limit the global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius; many governments have made important commitments to reduce or limit emissions; countries have achieved significant progress on preserving forests; and countries have agreed to provide comprehensive support to the most vulnerable to cope with climate change.”
These commitments have been backed up by $30 billion of pledges for short term adaption and mitigation measures for under developed countries. There are further commitments to raise $100 billion by 2020 to achieve those goals.
Before the commencement of the 2009 conference it was highly anticipated that a signed agreement would result in forest rich countries, such as Guyana receiving funding to battle the effects of rising sea levels and to continue maintaining their forests.
In 2008 Guyana’s President Jagdeo commissioned the US consulting firm McKinsey to assess the economic value of Guyana’s rainforest if Guyana were to begin large scale commercial logging. The figure they came to was a monstrous $580 million annually over 25 years if Guyana decided to log instead of preserve. So to make conservation a viable option President Jagdeo has asked the global community for $580 million per year to launch green initiatives and mobilise Guyana into the green era.
According to Secretary Ban “There will be an even balance between developing and developed countries”, hence, the reason why President Jagdeo might be sitting on this high level panel.
Over the last two years President Jagdeo has been travelling around the world trying to gain support from various governmental and non governmental bodies for his Low Carbon Development Strategy or LCDS. He claims that the scheme should generate money to boost Guyana’s economy, while also protecting its rainforest. In the last few years Norway has invested $250 million in President Jagdeo’s scheme, Conservation International invested $700,000 and the US has helped fund it though REDD although the amount hasn’t been disclosed.
However President Jagdeo and his government have suffered severe controversy in regard to the scheme he created for Guyana. During an interview with British Hard Beat News, President Jagdeo avoided any and all questions about corruption in his government and lack of transparency where money is concerned. He went on to say that under the agreement with Norway Guyana can actually increase their deforestation. Later he told the global community that the Guyanese people are all aware of his plan and fully back the initiative.
Under the surface it looks like all President Jagdeo can associate forest protection with is money and at the same time denying the reality of Guyana by selling the world propaganda.
Guyana appears to be on the cross roads of change and it must be kept in mind that the voice of Guyana is 800,000 strong and they all need to be involved.
In the words of Guyanese Journalist Neil Marks “People in Guyana understand that the LCDS strategy means preserving trees and that they should get money for it – but the understanding stops there.”
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April 14th, 2010 at 6:48 am
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