Indigenous leaders from across the country will start receiving cheques tomorrow for the development of their various communities, as the government begins the disbursement of funds from the sale of carbon credits, President Irfaan Ali announced today.

Last December, the Guyana Government and Hess Corporation signed a REDD+ Carbon Credit Purchase Agreement paving the way for the oil company to purchase carbon credits for a minimum of US$750 Million between 2022 and 2032 directly from the Guyanese Government. Of that amount, the Government has committed US$112m to Hinterland communities for their development.

“On Wednesday, leaders of our Amerindian villages will receive a cheque in their hands for the people of those villages as a result of the Low Carbon Development Starategy and what it has earned the country. The have a cheque for the development of their communities,” the President said during his address at the opening of the Energy conference.

President Ali said since the signing of the agreement with Hess Corporation, there has been several pushbacks, and even now, he claimed that Indigenous leaders are being discouraged from collecting the monies for their community development.

The President said Guyana’s vision for climate service, starting with the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) which gave birth to the 2009 Guyana-Norway Agreement is not new.

He said though the country’s “credential on climate change and the forest” was known globally, he hinted that several transformational environmental projects were cut down by the previous administration owing to the lack of commitment. He said the payment to the Indigenous leaders marks an important milestone for the country’s development and said that it is demonstration that the opportunities that exists in the country’s forest sector.

Guyana has so far received US$75 million as its first payment for carbon credits under the agreement with two further payments of US$37.5 million each to be made this year.

The carbon credit being sold to Hess Corporation represents only 30% of the carbon credit available to Guyana for the period 2016- 2030.

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