PNP urges gov't to lobby for more international support in Caribbean climate change fight

   

 The People's National Party (PNP) is calling for the government to use the occasion of the 48th Regular Meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government to advocate for greater support from the international community to assist the Caribbean in mitigating and adapting to climate change.

 

The meeting got underway in Barbados on Wednesday under the leadership of Barbados Prime Minister and current CARICOM Chair Mia Mottley.

 

It is scheduled to end today.  

 

The meeting will spotlight the climate crisis and the need to quickly implement key commitments from the 29th Conference of Parties (COP).

 

Opposition spokesperson on Foreign and Regional Affairs, Dr. Angela Brown Burke, says the appointment of a CARICOM Climate Envoy signalled a clear commitment by Caribbean states to elevate regional climate priorities.

 

"With this very recent appointment, it is incumbent on the Jamaican government to support this new drive by the region, to actualise a key gain from COP 29, which has the agreement to set a new collective quantitative goal on climate finance, which now aims to mobilise at least $300 billion annually by 2035 to assist developing nations in mitigating and adapting to climate change," she noted.  

 

Dr. Brown Burke also wants the government to support the recent call to adopt a new approach to confronting inequities in accessing critical climate financing. 

 

"The ability to access needed climate finance is largely dependent on a country's gross national income, which often does not provide an accurate picture of the underlying vulnerabilities that small island developing states face in recovering from a major economic shock, such as a catastrophic hurricane. This new MVI (Multidimensional Vulnerability Index) measurement being considered by the United Nations would enable small island nations to access the concessional financing that they need to literally weather the storm," she explained.