In recognition of the need for global action to combat climate change, Guyana became a Non-Annex I party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in June 1992, and has since made significant progress in the implementation of the Convention's principles to combat global climate change. In 2002, Guyana prepared its Initial National Communication (INC) where the Greenhouse Gas Inventory (GHG) Inventory findings show Guyana as a net sink for greenhouse gas removal, due mainly to the country's large tract of tropical forests. The INC also highlighted the country's vulnerability to sea-level rise and extreme weather events. This Second National Communication (SNC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has built on the findings of the INC and the experiences in recent years, both national and global, to provide more credible assessments and identify realistic solutions for climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Particularly in recent years, Guyana has received international recognition for its efforts in combating global climate change. In May 2010, the Government of Guyana launched the world's first national scale model for a low carbon economy - Guyana's Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). The LCDS seeks to provide an innovative approach on how to stimulate the creation of a low-deforestation, low-carbon, climate-resilient economy. Guyana is also one of the first fourteen countries to be formally approved as a participant in the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), looking at ways of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD). The Government has also recognized that adaptation will cost Guyana billions of dollars. Nevertheless, Guyana will continue to be a leading and active participant for the establishment and implementation of mechanisms and programmes to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen adaptation.
This SNC is not only important as a submission to the UNFCCC, but as a capacity building and institutional strengthening process for national climate information and understanding.