By Josiah Williams | November 29, 2024
PPP General Secretary and Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, has expressed his disappointment with the outcomes of the COP29 conference, particularly regarding the climate financing agreement for small and developing nations.
While Guyana recognizes some progress on climate financing, Dr. Jagdeo emphasized that the commitments made are insufficient to put the world on a sustainable path.
At COP29, over 200 countries agreed to triple the finance available to developing countries, increasing the target from 100 billion USD annually to 300 billion USD annually by 2035.
While this is seen as a positive development, Dr. Jagdeo stressed that it does not go far enough to address the pressing climate challenges faced by nations like Guyana.
A key point of discussion at COP29 was the advancement of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which facilitates carbon trading and markets as a means for countries to reduce their carbon emissions.
Dr. Jagdeo, a strong advocate for financing through Guyana’s forest carbon credits, raised concerns about the quality assurance in the carbon market.
He called for safeguards to prevent low-quality carbon credits from entering the market, which could potentially dilute the value of carbon trading and jeopardize the system’s credibility.
Dr. Jagdeo further emphasized that certification of carbon credits will be crucial to ensure that only high-quality credits enter the market.
He expressed his hope that a reputable organization will manage the certification process, noting that Guyana’s forest carbon credits, certified by the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) in 2002, are regarded as some of the highest quality available.