EDINBURGH, Scotland (CMC) — The leaders of two Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries Tuesday urged the international community to provide the funding necessary to assist Small Island Developing States (SIDS) like those in the Caribbean deal with the impact of climate change.

“Forest-rich countries must be provided with the incentives necessary to keep their forests intact and to reduce deforestation and forest degradation,” said Guyana’s President Dr Irfaan Ali, while his Surinamese counterpart, Chandrikapersad Santokhi, said that the Dutch-speaking Caricom country is also committed to keeping its forests intact to help mitigate climate change.

But Santokhi said “appropriate compensation means and mechanisms” were needed to support Suriname’s and other forest-rich countries’ transition towards using renewable energy.

Ali told the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26) that his position was not as a result of the fact that Guyana could benefit from massive payments because it has about 85 per cent of its land covered in forests.

But he reminded the conference that forests are a “powerful arsenal” in the fight against climate change.

Guyana’s forest stores 21.8 billion tonnes of carbon. Cutting them down would mean releasing the harmful gases into the atmosphere causing further harm to the environment. This has a ripple effect on rising sea-levels and flooding, for example.

President Ali told the COP 26 that it was crucial for countries to finalise the rules for carbon markets to properly value tropical forests and the services they provide.

Ali said that despite being a new-oil producer, Guyana supports the removal of subsidies from fossil fuel production. These subsidies reduce the cost of fossil fuel production, thereby driving the dependence on the use of these for energy purposes.

He told the conference that all countries of the world must take necessary actions to reduce their emissions and transition to using cleaner energy sources like solar energy and hydropower, emphasising that “the world’s foremost polluters have a duty to institute steeper emissions cuts”.

An estimated 93 per cent of Suriname is covered in forests and like Guyana, its forests help to trap and store massive amounts of the harmful gas.

Santokhi, told the conference that Suriname is also committed to keeping its forests intact to help mitigate climate change even as he acknowledged the “double standards” at the global level, an apparent reference to his country’s new oil and gas sector.

Santokhi said that the oil industry is indeed notorious for emitting carbon dioxide and other harmful greenhouse gases which has resulted in the climate crisis, but noted that developed countries that have benefited from oil production and industrialisation are now against developing nations pursuing similar development.

In his address, the Guyana President said the fate of civilisation resides in the decisions being made in Glasgow, adding “either we take immediate and drastic action or subject ourselves to an infernal global disaster”.

Ali said that the world is still far behind in its quest to keep the global temperate rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius and that any indifference and inaction will cost the planet.

He said while everyone will be affected, the most profound and devastating impacts will be on the poorest and vulnerable countries.

“Climate change affects us all. Rich, poor, developed, and developing states. But its effects are more severe on the poorest and most vulnerable, especially small island developing states, and low-lying coastal states. For us, it is a question of survival.”

He said these countries happen to be among the many countries which have had little impact on the increase in global temperatures, relative to large polluters such as the United States and China.

Ali urged that the climate summit be used to change the world’s trajectory, and identified three areas in which immediate action is necessary.

“First, we must set more ambitious goals to reduce emissions, and we must honour to the letter, those ambitions.”

Although every country has a part to play, it is the world’s foremost polluters, the President explained, that are obligated to institute deeper cuts.

“Second, the pledge of US$100 billion per annum made one decade ago to support climate action must be met,” Ali said, noting that dishonoured pledges are a recipe for disaster.

“Third, forests constitute a powerful arsenal in the fight against climate change. Forest rich countries must be provided with the incentives necessary to keep their forests intact and to reduce deforestation and forest degradation.”

The President pointed out that deforestation contributes to 16 per cent annual global emissions, and on that basis, urged that the rules for carbon markets and REDD+ be finalised, to recognise the true value of tropical forest, and the climate services they provide.

“My country, Guyana, is already playing its part in addressing climate change, and we’ll continue to do so. We’ll maintain our forests almost the size of England and Scotland combined, storing 20 gigatons of carbon as a global asset. We’ll work with local communities in conserving, protecting and sustainably managing our forest, biodiversity and freshwater supplies.”

He told the conference of Guyana’s plan to implement a cleaner and diverse energy mix, targeting 70 per cent reduction in electricity related emissions by 2030.

“We support the position of Caricom and are aligned with the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the Leticia pact, the Dhaka-Glasgow declaration, and the Glasgow leaders’ declaration on forest and land use, among others.”