Outreach Strategies, an American public relations firm is being paid US$250,000 ($50M) for four months to promote the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) inclusive of endorsements by “celebrities” within Guyana and external stakeholders of international standing.
The contract was signed between the Office of Climate Change and the Washington D.C.-based firm on March 20. It runs until July 15. It is not clear how much work the firm, which has said that it would “create a drumbeat of news and information,” has done so far and questions are being raised about the work that the company is doing. The money is coming from funds earned under Guyana’s forestry partnership with Norway through which Guyana can garner up to US$250 million by 2015 in performance