Guyana/Norway agreement making strides- Gov’t reports

Government is reporting that Guyana and Norway have been actively engaged in the strengthening of the agreement between the two countries to support Guyana’s low carbon and green growth focus.

 

It has reaffirmed its commitment to the partnership’s continuity and growth; a position that was echoed by the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to Brazil and Guyana, Mrs. Aud Marit Wiig when she visited the country.

 

The Guyana Government disclosed that a number of developments have since fortified the connection between the two countries with “the cordial exchange of letters between the new Ministers of Norway and Guyana, as Norway has undergone some internal Ministerial changes at its Ministry of Climate and Environment, and Guyana has formally established the Ministry of Natural Resources.”

 

The shared assessment of consultant companies to conduct a financial model review of the controversial Amaila Falls Hydropower Project, which has been the subject of much debate in both countries, is just one of these shared exchanges between the two nations.

 

It informed that a decision was recently made to utilize Norway’s largest consultancy firm ‘Norconsult’ for this review. This decision, Government said follows up on one taken by the countries in Paris, France, in December 2015, to conduct a review of the project’s current financial model.

 

This model, the APNU+ AFC Coalition government believes could shackle many generations of Guyanese to debt.

 

It is assuring that whilst this process develops, the governments of Guyana and Norway are preparing for a visit in April 2016 by a Norwegian delegation comprising members from the Ministry of Climate and Environment and Norway’s Development Agency (NORAD).

 

“The visit is expected to deepen the partnership and collaboration to complete outstanding deliverables of the MoU that the new government inherited. The Guyana team is actively preparing for this eagerly anticipated visit and all stakeholders will be engaged throughout this process.”

On November 9, 2009, the Governments of Guyana (then the PPP/C)  and Norway signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), and simultaneously published a Joint Concept Note (JCN), which set out how the two countries will “work together to provide the world with a relevant, replicable model for how REDD+ 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 until 2015 for results achieved by Guyana in limiting emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, which will support the implementation of Guyana’s LCDS. As part of the agreement, the two countries agreed to establish the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF) as the financial intermediary mechanism for the performance-based payments from contributors to Guyana.