GEORGETOWN – Guyana’s rainforests, once viewed only as lush scenery, are fast becoming a financial powerhouse. President Dr. Irfaan Ali has announced that Guyana is preparing to sign major new forest carbon agreements before the end of this year, boosting revenues from the country’s most valuable natural asset: its trees.
Speaking from Belém, Brazil, where the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) is underway, President Ali said the government is deep in negotiations with new partners eager to buy into Guyana’s carbon credits. “Hopefully, we will be able to announce before the end of this year some more agreements on forest carbon and to have more partners aligned with us,” he revealed during a livestreamed interview.
Ali, who delivered two key addresses at the World Leaders Summit, including one on the global energy transition, said Guyana continues to demonstrate that it is not just a participant but a leader in sustainable forest management and biodiversity protection. “Nature-based solutions cannot be avoided, overlooked, or excluded,” he declared.
“Forests and biodiversity are not side issues, they are central to achieving net zero, sustainable living, and livelihoods for our people.” This year’s COP, being hosted for the first time in the Amazon region, is a symbolic setting for Guyana’s message.
The country’s tropical forest covers 86 percent of its landmass, giving it the second-highest forest cover in the world and one of the lowest deforestation rates. Those forests hold an astonishing 19.5 gigatonnes of carbon and absorb 153 million tonnes each year, turning Guyana into a global model for climate-smart growth.
Guyana’s carbon wealth story began in 2009 when then-President Bharrat Jagdeo secured a US$227 million deal with Norway, marking the world’s first large-scale payment for preserving forests. That initiative evolved into the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), which was relaunched in 2022 under Ali’s government as LCDS 2030, bringing Guyana into the fast-expanding international carbon market.
The returns have been staggering. In December 2022, Guyana became the first country to receive jurisdiction-wide certification for 33.4 million tonnes of carbon credits under the ART-TREES standard. Within days, the government signed a US$750 million deal with U.S. energy giant Hess Corporation, one of the largest forest carbon transactions in history.
By 2024, the momentum had accelerated. Guyana was issued another 7.14 million carbon credits valid for the CORSIA aviation scheme, allowing international airlines to offset their emissions through Guyanese forest protection. Since then, the country has sold credits to over 20 airlines and even Apple Inc., earning praise for its integrity and transparency from some of the most demanding buyers in the world.
President Ali disclosed that by the end of 2025, total revenues from forest carbon sales are projected to reach US$200 million, bringing Guyana’s total earnings from the restructured LCDS 2030 framework to nearly US$400 million in just three years. Vice President Jagdeo confirmed that Guyana is now pursuing only “high-value sales”, aiming for premium prices on the international market.
Importantly, Ali stressed that this money isn’t sitting idle. Twenty percent of all carbon revenues go directly to over 240 Amerindian and hinterland communities, funding projects in agriculture, small business development, and renewable energy.
“These funds are helping our communities grow while they help protect the forests that sustain us all,” he said.The President also threw his support behind Brazil’s Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF), a bold US$125 billion fund designed to reward countries for protecting their forests. He called it a “timely complement” to Guyana’s own strategy, adding that it will give forest-rich nations the leverage they deserve in climate finance discussions.
As co-chair of the Forests and Climate Leaders Partnership (FCLP) alongside the United Kingdom, Guyana continues to shape the global roadmap for forest finance, ensuring developing countries are rewarded fairly for preserving ecosystems that benefit the world.
“Our forests are worth billions, not just in carbon, but in life,” Ali said. “We’re proving that protecting the planet can also drive prosperity. Guyana isn’t following the climate agenda anymore. We’re helping to write it.”
With negotiations heating up and carbon revenues climbing, Guyana’s rainforest, long seen as nature’s treasure, has officially become the country’s new economic frontier, powering a future where conservation and development finally stand side by side.
