The Ministry of Agriculture on Thursday re-launched the National Climate Change Committee with an expanded mandate and strengthened management team to deal with Guyana’s preparedness and adaptation to climate change.
The new committee, introduced by Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud, will be chaired by environmental consultant Shyam Nokta. This is a departure from the old committee which had been chaired by the Chief Hydrometeorologi-cal Officer of the Ministry of Agriculture.
The expanded role of the new committee will include examining national conditions as they relate to climate change and making recommendations to the advisor to the President on science, technology, energy and environment. The committee will also advise the relevant ministers on development and the need for policies and regulations in relation to activities responding to climate change. It will also monitor the implementation of national policies, programmes and action plans related to climate change and make recommendations for appropriate changes and revisions.
The new committee will also promote cooperation with relevant regional and international bodies involved in activities responding to climate change.
Persaud said Guyana has been proactive in climate change and has been taking steps to reduce the amount of emissions, though the country is not under obligations to do so, like industrialised countries.
The minister said that that as a precursor to the climate change centre, a climate change unit will soon be established in the Hydrometeorological Department of the ministry.
He said too that the government is looking into the possibility of carbon credits for being a net sink country. The government is also looking at its adaptation and mitigation policies as regards climate change, the minister stated.
Guyana has completed the final draft of its second communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Persaud said noting that Guyana has a national action plan to address climate change.
Persaud said Guyana was receiving the full support of the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) and other regional organisations.
Among the members of the new committee are: the Environmental Protection Agency, the Hydrometeorological Office, the Institute of Applied Science and Technology, the Guyana Forestry Commission, the Guyana Manufacturers and Services Organisation, the Ministry of Housing and Water, the University of Guyana School of Environmental Science, the Office of the President, the Guyana National Bureau of Standards, the Civil Defence Commission, Conservation International, the Forest Products Association of Guyana, Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission, Guysuco, Iwokrama, the Ministry of Local Government, the Ministry of Public Works and Communication, the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority and the National Agricultural Research Institute.
