Prime Minister Gaston Browne and the rest of the Antigua and Barbuda delegation to COP27 are among the Caribbean representatives being urged to make full use of the opportunity to demand greater climate justice.
The UN Climate Change Conference is set to get underway in just under a week, on November 6th in Sharm El Sheik, Egypt, with governments and NGOs from around the world gathering to discuss actions to address climate change.
Speaking on the matter recently, the Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), Timothy Antoine, stressed that the participants should not drop the ball with respect to their advocacy, considering the challenges we all face.
“I think we have to stick together and make strong advocacy and I expect going into COP27 that the Caribbean’s voice will be very loud and powerful and united on this issue of climate justice and the need for us to get access to climate finance. We all know it but it has to be repeated. We are among the lowest ommitters but the hardest hit and, unfortunately, the resources promised under the Paris Agreement that 100 billion dollars per annum … have not been forthcoming.
“We have been stymied in our efforts to build resilience. We need resources for adaptation, for building climate smart agriculture, for building climate smart infrastructure. Those are real needs,” Antoine said.
COP27 is scheduled to run from November 6th to 18th, and Prime Minister Gaston Browne is expected to lead the Antigua and Barbuda delegation, along with Environment Minister Sir Molwyn Joseph and other such officials.
PM Browne has never been one to shy away from condemning the larger countries on this matter over the years.
Browne mentioned recently that Antigua and Barbuda and other small islands are being impacted by all aspects of climate change, such as more frequent and powerful hurricanes, plus drought and erosion of coastlines which affect the livelihoods of farmers and fisherfolk.
He has insisted that polluters must be held accountable for the actions that are affecting the Caribbean and other nations worldwide.
That persistence has now seen the establishment of the Commission of Small Islands States on Climate Change and international law during COP26, last November.
Since then, three small island states — Antigua and Barbuda, Tuvalu and Palau — met virtually to pursue ways by which international law could be utilised to secure compensation for damage caused to small island states by Climate Change.
The Co-Chairs of the Commission conferred with a group of 14 international lawyers who are highly experienced in matters related to loss and damage, sea-level rise, marine environment, and human rights.
The group reported to the leaders on their research activities and a plan of action that is being developed.