President Dr Irfaan Ali has warned that divisions among global actors are undermining a unified international response to the escalating environmental crisis threatening the planet.

Speaking at a high-level panel discussion on the sidelines of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil, President Ali said the world’s failure to act collectively is worsening the destruction of forests, biodiversity, and natural ecosystems.

Referencing the Global Biodiversity Alliance (GBA) Summit held earlier this year in Georgetown, Ali said Guyana’s initiative demonstrated how inclusive dialogue can foster real solutions.

“We brought together every stakeholder. We were not afraid to put policy-makers and the academia in the same room, or scientists and policy-makers. And that seems to be the problem as we face today’s challenge. It seems to be two extreme positions, each looking to lock each other out of the room, where data and science is the most important tool for effective decision-making for successful businesses,” he said.

Ali stressed that as the world continues to lose more of its forests and biodiversity, there is a global crisis that requires nations, organisations, and communities to come together.

He noted that the GBA seeks to build an international coalition committed to decisive, science-based action on biodiversity protection.

“We should be willing to have a level of openness that brings all of the voice and perspective around the table, so that we can work on a sustainable path and find sustainable answers through which we have commitment from every stakeholder. That is the only way I think we can build an international coalition that is necessary," the President stressed.

Highlighting the scale of biodiversity loss, Ali told the panel that Latin America and the Caribbean have experienced a 95 per cent decline in biodiversity over the past 50 years — the steepest drop anywhere in the world.

He cautioned that this decline threatens food security, health, and livelihoods, given that much of humanity’s food and medicine depend on natural resources.

Reaffirming Guyana’s commitment to environmental stewardship, the President cited the country’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030, which protects more than 18 million hectares of forest storing billions of tonnes of carbon.

Ali said he remains confident that through cooperation, inclusivity, and innovation, the global community can restore and protect the planet’s natural resources.