- says Caribbean states have transformed local climate challenges into international priorities through collective action
Visiting United Kingdom (UK) Member of Parliament, David Lammy has said that Guyana and other Caribbean small states have successfully placed their climate vulnerabilities at the centre of global diplomacy through decades of persistent collective action.
Speaking at a conservation event in Guyana on Friday, Lammy said that despite their limited geographical size and geopolitical influence, Caribbean nations and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) have reshaped international climate negotiations by ensuring the concerns of vulnerable countries remain on the global agenda.
“For decades, small island developing states, and Caribbean nations particularly, despite limited geographical [and] geopolitical weight, have, through persistence, collective action, moral clarity, transformed local challenges into global priorities,” Lammy said.
“They ensured that the voices of vulnerable communities were heard in international forums. They changed the conversation and influenced policy far beyond their size and scale.”
Lammy said Guyana is now emerging as an increasingly influential voice in global climate and conservation discussions, describing the country as uniquely positioned as both a Caribbean nation and part of South America.
“That’s where I see Guyana increasingly playing a very, very crucial role because, of course, it is a country, part of the Caribbean and a central part of South America,” he said.
He added: “Guyana is no longer simply a country of immense natural wealth, it’s becoming a country of immense environmental significance.”
Lammy, pointed to Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030, its commitment to protecting 30 per cent of its land and marine areas by 2030, its leadership within the Global Biodiversity Alliance, and what he described as the expansion of opportunities and rights for Indigenous peoples as examples of why the country is attracting increasing international attention.
According to Lammy, Guyana is demonstrating that economic growth and environmental stewardship can advance together rather than compete with each other.
“Guyana is a nation that the world is now looking at anew, a nation that demonstrates that economic development and environmental stewardship do not have to be opposing forces,” he said.
He also described President, Dr Irfaan Ali as one of the leading emerging voices from the Global South on climate and environmental issues.
Lammy argued that conservation extends beyond environmental protection, saying it is closely linked to questions of justice, governance and geopolitical influence.
“If geopolitics determines who controls the land and justice determines who benefits from that land, conservation is not merely an environmental issue. It is a question of power, a question of fairness, and a question of governance,” he said.
With Guyana’s vast rainforest, expanding oil and gas sector and growing network of international partnerships, Lammy said the country has a unique opportunity to demonstrate that sustainable development can coexist with economic prosperity, providing a model for other nations.