PPP/C’s record must be judged in full

Guyana’s transformative Gas-to-Energy project has entered a decisive stage, with engineers now preparing to introduce natural gas into the system and working around the clock to deliver electricity ge

May 2010 Office of the President, Republic of Guyana Transforming Guyana’s Economy While Combating Climate Change A LOW-CARBON DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY Introduction and Background This document is the third draft of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). It reflects the outcome of almost a year of review and consultation within Guyana, coupled with input from climate change negotiations at the United Nations, and other international climate change initiatives. The document sets out Guyana’s strategy to forge a new low carbon economy over the coming decade. It identifies the eight priorities that will be the initial focus of LCDS implementation in 2010 and 2011, gives an outline of the priorities for the period 2012- 2015, and sets out the framework for further consultation and strategy development on Guyana’s long-term low carbon development. The first draft of the document was published in June 2009, and was built on a vision previously set out by President Bharrat Jagdeo, who said “…we want to be part of a global coalition that stimulates innovation and creativity to enable us to leapfrog over the high-carbon development path that today’s business-as-usual trajectory suggests we must follow… As part of our commitment, I believe that the people of this country might be willing to deploy almost our entire rainforest – which is larger than England – in the service of the world’s battle against climate change… providing this does not damage their legitimate development aspirations or impact on their sovereignty over our forest.” The first draft of the LCDS set out an initial view on how this might be done, and outlined insights on how to stimulate the creation of a low-deforestation, low-carbon, climate-resilient economy in Guyana. After publication of the first draft: • The draft LCDS was the subject of a four month national multi-stakeholder consultation, where over 10% of the country’s population participated directly in information sharing and consultation sessions on the strategy; extensive public outreach and discussion took place in the national and local media; the consultation process and a review of the draft was overseen by a nationally representative steering committee; and the process was monitored by a respected international non-governmental organization. • Guyana continued to work with other Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to support the establishment of a global Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) mechanism. • Guyana joined 34 other countries in the Informal Working Group on Interim Financing for REDD+ (IWG IFR). This group was set up to take forward the decisions reached at the G20 side meeting on deforestation that took place in London in April, 2009, where Guyana was one of three non-G20 countries invited to join the leaders of the most powerful economies in the world. The group has now made proposals on how to achieve a 25% reduction in global deforestation rates by 2015 at a cost of between €15 and €25 billion. • On November 9 th, 2009, the Governments of Guyana and Norway signed a Memorandum of Understanding which set out how the two countries will “work together to provide the world with a relevant, replicable model for how REDD-plus can align the development objectives of forest countries with the world’s need to combat climate change.” Norway committed to providing financial support of up to US$250 million by 2015 for results achieved by Guyana in limiting emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. The second draft of the LCDS was published in December 2009, and updated the first draft in line with progress made during the above processes. It also outlined a set of conditions, which if met, might provide the basis for Guyana to participate in REDD+ and place almost its entire forest under long-term protection. A key condition was that the Copenhagen Conference of the parties to the UNFCCC would establish a long-term framework for REDD+. Contrary to what had been hoped by many of the parties, the Conference failed to do this. ... the set-backs experienced in Copenhagen, it is still impossible to tell if the international community is ready to do what it takes to live up to their side of the bargain. Nonetheless, the world urgently needs examples of how progressive partnerships can prove that solutions are possible. In Guyana, we have been pleased to work with Norway to catalyse the start of such a partnership – and our countries are breaking new ground in the search for solutions. Norway has stated its intention to provide a quarter of a billion dollars to 2015 to pay for our forests’ climate services – and we have identified the investments we will make with these payments. I look forward to expanding our partnership to include others, and I am confident that this will enable the people of Guyana to commit to the long-term protection of our forest. This in turn will provide the world with highly cost effective climate solutions that are of benefit to all. Towards this goal, we are also pleased to have made significant input into forging the Interim REDD+ Partnership with more than 30 other countries, and believe that the replication of our model can help reduce global deforestation and forest degradation by 25% by 2015 for less than €25 billion in total. We will continue to play our part in helping to make the Interim REDD+ Partnership a reality for ourselves and other countries. Therefore, the elements needed to start forging new economies are being identified – but it will require international resolve to make them a reality. Some have said that it is unfortunate that we are trying to do this after a period when the financial crisis ravaged economies across the world, leaving many countries indebted and in recession. I disagree. The past two years have shown what the international community can do when its interests are in danger. Trillions of dollars were mobilized to rescue banks and protect the economies of the developed world. Long-established conventions were torn up to rescue entire countries. Governments in the developed world invested heavily to save jobs, citizens’ homes and individual companies. These years have therefore shown that when the world wants to act, the world is able to act. Our planet and the livelihoods of its six billion people call for a similar resolve We didn’t see this resolve in Copenhagen, but that does not change the fundamental truth that if we are to face down climate change, the world needs ambition that is commensurate with the challenge we face. If the international community acts in a progressive fashion, listens to forest countries and their people, and applies the same resolve it applied to the financial crisis to achieve a sufficiently ambitious international climate agreement, Guyana will not be found lacking. We are willing to take the tough actions needed to improve our forest-based economic sectors where necessary. We are ready to create real economic alternatives to remove long-term pressure from our forests. We have started to move our economy onto a low carbon trajectory. What we are looking for from the international community is the partnership that enables us to go forward together. ... Guyana is reaching a new stage in its national development. As the country’s first generation of reforms and infrastructural development nears completion, the Government is embarking on a new wave of reforms, coupled with further expansion of the country’s strategic economic infrastructure. Over the past two decades, Guyana has transitioned to a multi-party democracy and market-based economy. Since 2001, far-reaching constitutional reform has included the establishment of six constitutional commissions and four parliamentary standing committees to promote greater inclusivity in national politics; the introduction of presidential term limits which prevent a President from being elected to more than two consecutive terms; and the restoration of parliamentary oversight to the National Budget process. An independent Office of the Auditor General reporting to the National Assembly is charged with ensuring transparency of Government expenditures, and parliamentary participation in the police, teaching, public service and judicial appointment commissions has been enabled in law. The country’s macro-economic foundations have been transformed and remain strong3. Guyana has experienced positive growth in almost every year over the past two decades – GDP growth rates in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 were 5.1%, 7.0%, 2.0% and 3.3% respectively4. Inflation has been kept under control, and monetary policy is implemented by an independent Central Bank. Recent years have seen the Government’s stock of debt reduced significantly – with external debt now less than half what it was in the early 1990s5. This has enabled considerable expansion in social sectors, most notably in education, where investments are now about a third of all Government revenue6. The framework for private investment has been progressively modernized, and all major political parties within the National Assembly support market-based approaches to economic growth. The corporate tax regime allows the full repatriation of profits, and the 2004 Investment Act was introduced to modernize the regulatory and legislative framework to protect private investment. There is no discrimination between foreign and domestic investors. Strategic economic infrastructure has been upgraded – including almost all of the national road network, the main international airport and hinterland air-strips. Ogle Airport is now Guyana’s first privately operated international airport, the Berbice Bridge links some of the country’s most productive land to Georgetown, and the bridge across the Takutu provides Guyana with its first-ever land border with any of its neighbors – in this case, linking Guyana to Brazil, and through Brazil to the rest of South America. Coupled with the country’s as yet-untapped further potential for economic development – including agricultural potential, valuable natural resources and a young, educated and English-speaking workforce - the foundations 3 The 2009 Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Public Information Notice states “Directors…noted that Guyana has weathered the global crisis well, sustaining a solid macroeconomic performance supported by prudent policies. Directors commended the authorities’ commitment to further entrench macroeconomic stablility and fiscal sustainability, while promoting long-term growth and development to improve the coutnry’s standard of living and reduce poverty. Available at: http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pn/2010/pn1048.htm 4 International Monetary Fund, Public Information Notice (PIN) No.10/48. http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pn/2010/pn1048.htm. These figures are different to those in the second draft of the LCDS, because they incorporate the re-basing of GDP to 2006 prices. The re basing exercise was carried out as part of the overall modernization of the Public Accounts System. See Ministry of Finance, Budget Speech to the National Assembly, 2010 for further details. 5 Ministry of Finance, National Budgets 6 Ministry of Finance, National Budgets