The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

ECONOMIC Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis said The Bahamas could monetise blue carbon credits from its seagrass by the end of 2025.

The country has the largest share of seagrass meadows globally, and the process is underway to verify its value.

A group of investors is in Grand Bahama attending the Forum for Impact Americas. This year’s forum theme is “Building for the Future in the Blue Economy”, and it is being hosted by co-founder Michael Meehan, Antoinette Russell, the regional leader for The Bahamas, and Simon Jacot de Boinod, the forum’s founder. 

Mr Halkitis told attendees that Blue Carbon Credits is a potentially big deal for The Bahamas, adding that the projections for revenue generation are encouraging.

“As our knowledge base and research capacity has improved, we realised we are far richer in marine resources than we previously thought,” he said. “And that is why this administration highlighted the blue economy as a major pillar for national development.”

He said The Bahamas has led the discussion in recognising seagrass meadows’ role in absorbing carbon and has commissioned research on ten seagrass meadows in Bahamian waters.

“We are talking about up to 93,000 square kilometers of seagrass, the largest seagrass meadows in the world,” he said.

“Based on our current pace, we could be in a position to monetise by the end of next year.”

“The mapping and verification are a very long and involved process. But we want to be patient because we want to have verified credits because with the size of numbers being tossed around in terms of potential revenue, there are a lot of sketchy players out there, and you ought to be sure you are getting maximum benefit for your country.” 

He noted that the market is still being developed, and the government is cautiously conservative in its projections.  

He explained that the process was brought about through a public-private partnership, with the government of The Bahamas owning 45 per cent of the executing entity. He added that proceeds would belong to the National Investment Fund for Family Island development, climate-resilient infrastructure, renewable energy, and food security initiatives.

In terms of the $50bn carbon credit estimated by some experts, he said: “When people start talking about numbers, some people might think that the government has already started collecting money. We are in the process of verifying mapping and carbon absorption capacity, and at a later stage then get to the point where we talk about marketing it and getting some revenue.

“There are a lot of estimates and guesstimates being bandied about. We tend to take a very conservative approach. I think there is tremendous potential for it, but we are being very cautious in terms of going through the verification which is very detailed. And it also gives us some time to take a look at what some other countries have done in terms of their carbon credits so we can avoid any mistakes that they have made,” he explained. 

He assured that the government is seeking the best arrangement for the Bahamas.

“As it stands now, there are a lot of numbers being bandied about, and we take the approach that you don’t count your chickens before they hatch. Let’s go through the process of verification. We have a world-renowned company doing the verification. The good thing is we have put legislation in place to govern this thing and that gives a very transparent foundation to this whole development.”

Mr Halkitis said that the sovereign wealth fund had not been changed to the national investment fund as some have suggested.   

He explained that the sovereign wealth fund was established around the time when there was some discussion of oil exploration and noted that the national investment fund was created for the government’s assets, including carbon credits, real estate, buildings, etc., and shares in companies that the government owns. 

Minister Halkitis also denied suggestions that monies have been collected for carbon credits.

“There is always some mischief. I even heard allegations that the government has already collected; I think the figure was $11bn, and there was even a date of December 2023 for carbon credits, which is totally false,” he said.

“I can say unequivocally that the government has not gotten any money, much less $11bn from carbon credits.”