SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — King Charles III urged more countries to value nature during a visit to Guyana on Friday, praising its efforts to protect its vast forests while generating millions of dollars from carbon credit sales.
“Everybody argues about how much. Well, it’s priceless.
Charles said finding ways to value nature remained a challenge. That’s the answer,” he said during a meeting with President Irfaan Ali in Georgetown, the capital. “Nature has the best solutions to everything, really,” he said.
The following month, U.S.-owned Hess Corporation, a partner in Guyana’s offshore oil sector, agreed to buy $750 million worth of carbon credits over the next decade. Guyana’s government pledged to set aside 30% of the proceeds for development projects in Indigenous Amerindian communities.
“Nearly two decades later, Guyana has demonstrated what is possible,” Ali said. King Charles said he hoped other countries would follow Guyana’s example in confronting the “enormous existential threats we face. “Our ambitions continue to grow, to encompass biodiversity, sustainable cities, and a better relationship between people and nature,” Ali said.
Charles arrived in Guyana on Thursday as part of a nine-day Caribbean tour . He first visited the Bahamas and is scheduled to arrive in Antigua on Friday evening ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
