Still some concerns about carbon credit

-    Jagdeo

The possible apprehension by countries to purchase carbon credit in light of the global financial crisis is of concern of many developing countries including Guyana.  This is according to President Bharrat Jagdeo who told the local media last week that this is one of the concerns he had raised, fearing that some countries may be weighing their commitment.

President Bharrat Jagdeo

His argument, he said, was based on the fact that if Europe, in this financial difficulty, does not send the right signal by saying that they are prepared to make deep emission cuts now, then they will not be able to persuade countries like India, China and other countries to get on board.
These developing countries, he said, are significantly more in poverty.
“I am pleased that Europe agreed on 20 percent cuts on 1990 levels by 2020 and they said that they were prepared to go up to 30 percent, should the other countries come on board.”
On the other hand, he explained that although these cuts are not significantly steep in the United States, what may be happening is that there may have global economies shrinking.
“If you have climate change in a catastrophic way and if we do not limit greenhouse gases now…we are talking about the survival of the planet…from that perspective you have to pay much more attention to addressing the problems of climate change,” President Jagdeo said.
Even from the perspective of the economics of climate change, the Head of State said, it takes about one percent of global Gross Domestic Product per annum to finance all the measures that could put the world on the 450 parts per million pathway, which is considered sustainable.
“If you do not do that the negatives in the future could lead you to loose a lot of what you did not protect.”
In December last year, President Jagdeo launched an ‘Avoid Deforestation’ paper, in which he illustrated how Guyana can earn between $4.3 B and $23.4B, depending on movement of commodity prices, once the country aggressively pursues economically rational land use opportunities.
Guyana’s position on avoided deforestation was again highlighted when President Jagdeo delivered the feature address at the Forest Carbon Finance Summit 2009: ‘Making Forest Carbon Markets Work’, on Capitol Hill, Washington DC.
Jagdeo, in outlining Guyana’s approach to addressing the issue of deforestation and climate change, underscored the work done with assistance from Mc. Kinsey and Company, one of the world’s top consulting firms, that advises businesses, government agencies and institutions on a number of issues.
Avoided Deforestation is now touted as a concept where countries are paid to prevent deforestation that would otherwise occur.
-    While acknowledging that developed countries need to have strong political will and dedication to address the climate issue, the Guyanese leader also pointed out the responsibility of developing countries as part of the solution, using forests as a cost effective abatement solutmion.