No rush to sell remaining carbon credits; Jagdeo says 2nd agreement being comfortably explored

Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has disclosed that the government is in no rush to sell Guyana’s remaining carbon credits although it is hoping to move forward with a second agreement.

Dr Jagdeo was at the time responding to questions posed by the Department of Public Information (DPI) during his weekly press conference at the Office of the President on Thursday.

The vice president emphasised that if Guyana is to move forward with another agreement, the market conditions would have to be “favourable.”

“There is no urgency, there is no pressure on us to do that…We’re in a comfortable position to explore the markets that way,” he posited.

Back in December 2022, Guyana signed its first-ever, historic multi-year agreement with Hess Corporation, which will see the oil company purchasing 2.5 million carbon credits annually for the years 2016-2030.

It came after the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) revealed that it had issued 33.5 million TREES credits to Guyana – the first country to receive such status.

This agreement will generate US$750 million in revenue over ten years and will fund developmental projects in Amerindian communities and support Guyana’s climate adaptation efforts.

According to the vice president, though the historical agreement has attracted potential buyers from around the world, the market has softened due to what occurred at COP28. However, he is optimistic similar agreements can be advanced.

“We have a strong product. We’re fortified by a solid agreement that defied market expectations and now we have a few people with interest. The problem with the market though is because of what happened at COP, the market softened a bit because of COP but we believe through bilateral deals, similar to the one that we did with Hess, we’d be able to advance the sale,” the VP further emphasised.

Guyana has already received its first tranche of carbon credit monies, totalling US$75 million in 2023, of which US$22 million was directly invested in Amerindian villages across Guyana.

The programme has led to the implementation of around 500 economic projects, giving a much-needed boost to the villages’ entrepreneurial and institutional capabilities.