-says former Norway environment minister Solheim
Former Minister of the Environment and International Development of Norway, Erik Solheim says that Guyana must justify the need for the funding of new projects in order to trigger the release of additional tranches of funds under the Norway-Guyana agreement and the money already disbursed must be spent before more could be released.
He also emphasized that Guyana needs to stick to the agreement to preserve its forests. Solheim made the comments in an emailed response to questions from Stabroek News at the conclusion of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) World Conservation Congress in Jeju, South Korea last week, where he was a participant.
Guyana has so far received US$70 million from Norway for the years 2010 and 2011 from the US$250 million agreement signed at the end of 2009. The agreement provides for US$50 million per annum until 2015.
“Let me at the same time reiterate that I am not in charge of this portfolio any more. I am answering as the main political driving force on the Norwegian side behind the agreement between our two countries, not from a position of current responsibility,” Solheim clarified.
“Norwegian rules and regulations demand that a significant portion [of] the money currently in the GRIF are spent before a new payment can be made. Norwegian rules also require that [the]… need for funding is justified in terms of new projects,” Solheim said. “Everyone receiving Norwegian contributions both outside of Norway and within has to adhere to these rules. In a simpler world it would of course be solely Guyana’s performance that triggered the payments,” he explained.
“Guyana can receive the third tranche of funds under the agreement when the results on deforestation and enabling indicators and activities are independently verified and in accordance with the guidelines defined in the Joint Concept Note of the Norway-Guyana partnership,” he said.
Asked what it was that led to the delays in Guyana’s accessing the funds already in the World Bank account, he said that the novelty of the arrangement may be responsible. “…the funding of projects from the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund has been slower than expected,” the former Minister noted.
“It is difficult to point out one single reason for the delay, but it is important to remember that the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund is one of history’s first attempts to create a financing mechanism for results based climate finance,” he said.
Solheim said that during the design phase there were no other experiences to lean on and Guyana is now “paying the price of being a front-runner.” He noted, however, that there are ongoing discussions related to how the GRIF can be improved and made more flexible. “This work is not finalized or concluded, but there are reasons to be optimistic when it comes to [resolving] the challenges the fund has today,” he said.
“The agreement between Guyana and Norway is a composite of different parts. The technical aspects of the agreement related to forest monitoring, have had excellent progress. Guyana has moved from being a country with a basic forest monitoring system, to being a country well on its way with developing a modern and sophisticated system which uses internationally recognized methods,” Solheim said.
Asked to what degree the lack of a binding UNFCCC agreement on climate change would affect the Norway-Guyana partnership, he replied, “Although the lack of a binding global agreement is very unfortunate it will not directly influence the Norway Guyana partnership.” Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change have failed to reach an agreement that would see countries committing and being held to binding cuts in their emission of CO2 gases.
