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By Desmond Brown
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 22 2016, CNS – Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne Friday made an appeal to the international community to scale up climate financing with increased accessibility for vulnerable Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
Prime Minister Browne was among some 165 world leaders to formally sign the Paris Climate Agreement at the United Nations (UN) headquarters, setting in motion events that could see the treaty operational within a year.
“We note that this Agreement makes no legally binding commitment to a fund, in the sum of US$100 billion, an amount that has been frequently touted as a minimum for adaptation and mitigation. Notwithstanding, we expect that the funding commitments will be honoured,” Browne said in an address to the UN following the signing ceremony.
“Caribbean countries have accumulated high debt as a consequence of increased expenditure to address the impact of climate change difficulties.
“My own country is experiencing a period of prolonged drought that has forced my government to allocate scarce financial resources to convert salt water for domestic purposes and to sustain our vital tourism industry. This has resulted in the destruction of food crops and livestock,” Browne added.
While Antigua and Barbuda has submitted its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), the Browne noted that the reality is that the targets are overwhelming and will not be achieved without the financial support of the industrialised countries.
“It is worth recalling that Caribbean countries have been locked out of concessional financing from the international financial institutions based on inaccurate designations and other related nuances,” he said, calling for “adequate and predictable climate financing in order to fulfil INDC’s and to meet the challenges of climate change of which we are victims, not perpetrators”.
Browne also called for support of the notion proposed by ECLAC to swap debt for climate change adaptation.
He pointed out that as at November 2015, there was an estimated US$14.3 billion approved for projects but only one percent of those funds have been approved for all of Latin America and the Caribbean.
“This cannot be right; it cannot be just; it cannot be conscionable. And, it indicates the overpowering struggle that lies ahead of our small island countries,” Browne said.
Other Caribbean leaders signing the Paris Climate Agreement were Prime Minister Freundel Stuart of Barbados; Prime Minister Perry Christie of The Bahamas; Prime Minister Dean Barrow of Belize; Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell of Grenada; President David Granger of Guyana; Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development in St. Lucia, Jimmy Fletcher; and Prime Minister Dr. Tomothy Harris of St. Kitts and Nevis.
“As we struggle with climate finance, CARICOM countries are facing existential threats to our financial services sector, an unjustifiable assault in the form of de-risking, representing a de-linking from correspondent banking relationships with developed countries,” Prime Minister Browne said.
“De-risking will have severe economic and humanitarian consequences and our access to climate financing will become even more limited.
“We therefore appeal to the nations involved to put a stop to this destructive practice of delinking Caribbean countries from the international payment system,” he added.
Four months ago, more than 150 world leaders met in Paris and turned environmental inaction into global climate action in protection of the planet.
In the Paris negotiations, there were two critical issues vital to the survival of small island states. These were: a legally binding agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius to avert catastrophic climate change; and a legally binding commitment to provide sufficient funding for adaptation to, and mitigation against, the effects of climate change.
Prime Minister Browne noted that while significant progress was made in Paris, it is unfortunate that, 1.5 degrees remains merely aspirational despite the urgency and consequences for SID’s if this target is not achieved.
A new study recently released by researchers found that leaving any increase in the level of carbon cutting ambition until 2025 as detailed in the Paris deal would make it almost impossible to keep temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius.
