Guyana's Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030 forms the backbone of the country's efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change from 2022-2030. The four primary objeectives of the strategy are: to value ecosystem services through voluntary global carbon markets and a bilateral partnership with Norway; to invest in clean energy, boosting green economic growth; to protect against climate change and biodiversity loss domestically; and to contribute to global climate goals
To maintain ecosystem services, the strategy aims to ensure that mining activities are low-impact and certified with respect to their effects on forestry. It also aims to sustainably regulate commercial forestry, expand natural mangrove systems as coastal protection, protect watersheds and enhance monitoring/research capacity nationally.
To achieve a clean electricity supply, the strategy plans to meet growing demand via a mixture of hydroelectricity and natural gas, with solar energy also playing a key role and combining with enhanced battery storage to provision off-grid regions. It also promotes early measures to electrify transport, including tax reductions for electric vehicles and the subsidised construction of charging stations.
To adapt to climate risks, a key element of the strategy is riverine and coastal flood prevention, through soft (mangroves and ecosystem restoration) and hard techniques. This aims to safeguard against these major risks to the agricultural and urban sectors concentrated around the coast.
On a global level the strategy supports carbon pricing and the achievement of net zero goals by 2050 and a 28% reduction in oil demand by 2030, while acknowledging the significant role of oil in Guyana's economy and emphasising the need for major incumbents in the sector to contribute to the same goals.
