Caribbean Stakeholders Urged to Put Forward Strategy to Deal With Climate Change

Minister of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Robert Pickersgill, has called on Caribbean stakeholders to come up with a strategy to address the issue of climate change.

Mr. Pickersgill made the call at a strategy meeting and workshop for regional leaders at the Alhambra Inn Hotel, in Kingston, on November 7.

The meeting was aimed at safeguarding the future of the Caribbean by ensuring that the region has a powerful voice in the international arena, and that its needs and concerns will be given due consideration.

The Minister pointed out that climate change is projected to have devastating consequences on a global scale, even if there are significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

“Let us all speak with one voice against this common threat to our sustainable future.  This is your chance to have an input into what the delegation will defend, based on your knowledge of the various sectors that you represent.  This will give credence and value to the negotiating positions that members of the Caribbean Community will adopt as our regional position and also to that of the wider sub-grouping of the Alliance of Small Island States,” Mr. Pickersgill said.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has as its primary focus the reduction of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. The Conference of the Parties (COP) is designated as the supreme governing body of the Convention.

A total of 195 countries have submitted their instruments of ratification so far. These countries meet once a year in order to evaluate the application of the Convention and develop the negotiation process between the Parties in front of new commitments.

By virtue of this, all the Parties have common but different responsibilities.

In addition, they take into account their national and regional development priorities, goals and circumstances. This includes gathering and sharing information on greenhouse gas emissions, national policies and optimal practices.

Strategies aimed at addressing those issues as well as to determine the terms of financial and technological support to developing countries were also discussed at the meeting.

The 20th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP20) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 10th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP10) are expected to take place in December 2014 in Peru.