The Draft National Climate Change Policy and Action Plan, which currently consists of 19 policy objectives addressing adaptation, mitigation, resilience-building and risk reduction, is out and open for review.
The Ministry of the Presidency, through the Office of Climate Change, has released the first draft of the policy and action plan, which is now opened for public review. The Ministry has said feedback is invited from interested stakeholders for a period of two and a half weeks starting May 15 and ending May 31 and should be sent to the project manager via e-mail at rohinl.kerrett.occ@motp.gov.gy.
The draft document explained that the policy consists of 19 objectives that are geared to address adaptation, mitigation, resilience building and risk reduction, and which are clustered into nine policy directives.
The policy directives are: establishing a climate resilience infrastructure and physical development; sectoral climate change mainstreaming for a healthy and educated society; the implementation and use of green and clean technologies; building a diversified, climate-ready, low-carbon Guyanese economy; responsible management and utilisation of natural resources; promoting equitable participation in national decision-making processes; driving climate change decision making that is based on leading-edge scientific evidence; developing and accessing finances and resources to achieve national climate change goals; and encouraging and promoting cooperation on climate action between the public and private sectors.
The plan said that the directives strategically rationalise how the objectives are executed in logical and efficient ways, while also clearly communicating national policy priorities.
“The directives serve to align actors and resources more efficiently and provides clarity of direction to move the policy forward. This overarching policy design is derived from national consultation and two analyses: firstly, a comparative analysis of other national and sectoral policies to identify alignments with the climate action agenda. This served in helping develop a coherent policy approach, and secondly, a strategic analysis that identified the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to achieving national climate change vision and high-level goals,” the document stated.
It further explained that in order to nationalise the policy and action plan, a strategic action plan has been developed that comprises of action plans to achieve each policy objective. In combination, the document stated, they provide a definitive ten-year road map to move towards the expected outcomes. It was also noted that the policy actions identified and recommended are framed in high level terms that direct operational level activities.
“Despite this, they are purposely not intensively prescriptive. This provides the implementers with enough flexibility to consider the details of time and context moving forward. The action plans are accompanied by expected outcomes and realistic performance measures. How to implement the strategic action plan is also addressed. Most important is how to prioritise action to be taken,” the document explained, while stating that actions that cut across multiple sectors and priorities could be given higher implementation priority.
It noted that actions for which the Office for Climate Change must take direct leadership rather than a coordinating role, can also be prioritised and action prioritisation also considers immediate and acute impacts, as well as long-term and slow onset impacts.
The document further noted that the policy and action plan informs national sustainable development planning and several aspects provide justification and foundation support for the Green State Development Strategy and similarly, as the blue print for climate action in Guyana, it is aligned and synergistic with the country’s international responsibilities.
It added that the synergies allow the policy and action plan to collate national climate progress for reporting back to international partners and is aspiring in its vision, but is realistic in its design.
“It is fully expected that this policy will be reviewed and revised after the initial ten-year implementation cycle to accommodate changing societal context, new information and data and even the emergence of new technologies and solutions,” the document said.
It went on to note that with the policy documented and operational, it establishes institutional standing for climate change, not simply as a concern but an entrenched … national governance principle, with a heightened level of recognition, and over time, the value it will bring to the citizens will become more apparent.
The policy and action plan lay the foundation for Guyana’s future climate change actions, while consolidating current efforts and building on those of the past.
It intends to fulfil a list of outcomes that include: a proactive national approach to climate action that accepts and prioritises climate change as a foundation for building a sustainable economy; climate action premised on the precautionary principle of risk avoidance – especially where high uncertainty exists. And the commitment to such an approach will make use of appropriate technologies and resources, and allows the country to make corrections to its development pathway moving forward.
