Climate transparency in Guyana’s new economic pillar

Dear Editor,

Guyana stands today at a remarkable crossroads — a nation newly enriched by oil and newly lauded for its climate stewardship. President Irfaan Ali and Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh have told the world, with understandable pride, that revenues from climate services are now a distinct pillar of the national economy, alongside traditional oil and tax revenues. It is a vision both bold and beautiful: a small, forested nation earning global respect and real income by protecting the lungs of the world.

But a vision — however noble — is only as strong as the light cast upon it. The promise of the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030 rests not merely on its environmental virtue, but on the moral and institutional credibility that sustains it. And it is here, amid the celebration of “climate revenues,” that an unsettling fog begins to thicken.

Recently, the Department of Public Information announced that Guyana sold forest carbon credits to 19 international airlines over the past 18 months — an achievement hailed as a “major milestone.”^[1] Yet, despite the fanfare, not one figure was shared: no disclosure of how many credits were sold, no price per tonne, no total revenue received. The public, in whose name these forests are monetised, is told little more than that “prices exceeded expectations.” Such vagueness is not environmental diplomacy; it is bureaucratic secrecy dressed as success.

Transparency in governance is not a ceremonial virtue. It is the cornerstone of public trust — especially where national patrimony is being traded in global markets. Each carbon credit represents both an ecological commitment and a financial asset belonging to the people of Guyana. To treat those figures as state secrets is to weaken the democratic contract that gives legitimacy to the entire LCDS vision.

The algebra of trust is simple: protection without disclosure equals suspicion. When climate earnings arrive without clarity, citizens cannot verify whether the revenues truly flow into the projects promised — solar farms, drainage and irrigation upgrades, Amerindian land titling, and the like. Without full publication of sales data, buyer identities, and contract terms under mechanisms such as ART-TREES or CORSIA, the government risks converting its greatest diplomatic triumph into a domestic liability.

Guyana’s global standing as a “climate leader” will mean little if transparency falters at home. Leadership, after all, is not proclaimed — it is practiced. And the true test of leadership is the government’s willingness to be audited by those it serves.

What the country now requires is a firm institutional commitment:
•Full disclosure of all carbon credit sales — amounts, prices, and buyers.
•Publication of how revenues are distributed across the LCDS projects.
•Creation of an independent oversight body composed of civil society, academia, and the

Auditor General’s office, empowered to audit and report on all carbon-market transactions.

Guyana’s forests earned the world’s respect by standing tall and visible. The nation’s governance must do the same. If climate stewardship is to become the new currency of our economy, then trust must remain its gold standard. A government may buy goodwill abroad, but only transparency can preserve legitimacy at home.

As concerned advocates for environmental justice and open transparent governance , we collectively reaffirm what should be obvious: the only sustainable currency any government can trade with its people is trust. And trust is not granted by decree — it is earned, line by line, in the bright lights of the truth.

References

1. Guyana sold carbon credits to 19 airlines under LCDS framework — dpi.gov.gy ↩