President Bharrat Jagdeo says it is important for Guyana to either enter into a bilateral agreement or be a part of a market-based carbon trading regime so that it could raise the resources necessary for the fight against climate change.

He said that Guyana is still negotiating bilateral arrangements with the United Kingdom and expressed the hope that the country is able to benefit from this until a post-Kyoto arrangement is finalised.

Speaking at a press conference held at State House on Saturday, the President re-emphasised Guyana’s vulnerability to the challenges of climate change and its need for assistance for the necessary mitigation and adaptation efforts.

During the Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting in October President Bharrat Jagdeo said Guyana was willing to deploy almost its entire forest in the service of the battle against climate change and this drew the ire of some and caused anxiety to others. The Ministry of Agriculture, in offering clarification, said that under this offer not a single hectare of forest will be sold and forestry and mining activities will continue in a sustainable manner.

“We have seen the impact of climate change in terms of adverse weather patterns. We can’t support mitigation and adaptation from our treasury,” the President said. He noted that the present process for accessing funds for mitigation and adaptation is a laborious one. “We have expectations that the 2012 post-Kyoto Protocol will provide an established approach,” he noted.

“We are saying that tropical deforestation is the major cause of climate change. We hope for a market based mechanism [post-Kyoto],” he said.

“I am not very happy with what came out of Bali