Guyana’s carbon-sinking potential just as powerful as value of its oil – former President, Iván Duque

While Guyana has attracted the attention of the world as an oil exploration hotspot, boasting over 11 billion barrels in oil equivalent, the carbon sinking value of its expansive forests is just as valuable. Making this point was former President of Colombia, Iván Duque during his appearance on the inaugural episode of United for Biodiversity: The Alliance Podcast.

This platform was recently launched by the Government of Guyana to provide critical insights on the importance of the Global Biodiversity Summit billed for July 23-25 at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.

The former President noted that Guyana has long been a pioneer on forest conservation and monetization. Even with its oil riches, Duque said Guyana continues to remain laser focused on building on its stellar record as it leads the charge for innovative financial mechanisms like biodiversity credits, green bonds, and debt-for-nature swaps.

Duque said President, Dr. Irfaan Ali in particular has not only been a vocal leader on this front, but he has proven that Guyana has the right balance between harnessing traditional energy sources and ensuring the necessary protection of natural assets. Expounding on the importance of Guyana’s green assets, Duque said, “If you were to put a weight of value to the carbon-sinking potential of Guyana, the tons of carbon that Guyana is able to sink, and will be able to sink in the next 20 to 30 years in monetary value, with the right pricing of a ton of carbon in Guyana, it’s almost close to the value of all the oil reserves that potentially Guyana has.”

The former President added, “Those 11 billion barrels can be seen in a very similar value to the sinking potential of carbon that Guyana has.”

Duque said it is therefore fitting for Guyana to lead an alliance on biodiversity protection since its low carbon development is in the country’s DNA.

“This is validated by the fact that this is a country with one of the lowest percentages of deforestation in the Amazon biome. You have more than 95% of the country in tropical forests…it is a green superpower,” the former President noted.

In addition to outlining a roadmap for establishing financial instruments, the upcoming summit led by President Ali, is poised to bring together world leaders, biodiversity experts, and community representatives to align efforts, define joint goals, and establish a global coalition for biodiversity conservation and restoration.

It will also identify pilot initiatives in key countries, emphasizing data-driven conservation efforts through the Global Biodiversity Product and biodiversity index.