Climate Change Act Drives Belize’s Sustainable Development Vision

Belize is stepping up its fight against climate change, taking bold, decisive action to protect its future. The government has enacted the Climate Change and Carbon Market Initiatives Act 2026, the country’s first comprehensive law to guide climate action and regulate participation in carbon markets. The law, signed by Governor-General Dame Froyla Tzalam on June eighteenth and officially gazetted two days later, puts a formal structure in place for how Belize manages climate policy and carbon trading. It strengthens the Climate Change Department, boosts national coordination and reporting, and sets clear rules for carbon projects, including how benefits are shared and tracked. Minister Orlando Habet says the move gives Belize the tools to drive its own climate agenda, pursue low-emission development, and ensure carbon market efforts benefit the Belizean people. With the legal framework now in place, the focus shifts to rolling it out through new regulations, systems, and partnerships with communities, the private sector, and other stakeholders.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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