(Caribbean Community Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is calling for a focus on robust and extensive scientific findings on climate change as it prepares to participate in the 25th Meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP 25) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change later this year.
CARICOM Environment Ministers and climate change experts met in St. Kitts and Nevis from 17-18 October for the annual preparatory meeting ahead of the Climate Change Conference, scheduled for 2- 13 December in Santiago, Chile.
The Meeting took place against the reality of ongoing and unprecedented drought and water shortages in St Kitts and Nevis, and at a time when attention is focused on reconstruction and recovery from the destruction wrought by Hurricane Dorian in parts of the Bahamas.
The Ministerial meeting was chaired by Hon. Minister Eugene Hamilton, Minister of Agriculture, Marine Resources, Cooperatives Environment and Human Settlements of St Kitts and Nevis. In his remarks, Mr. Hamilton made a strong call for the Region to continue to place science at the forefront of its efforts and positions for the upcoming Conference. He stressed that the science on climate change was clear, compelling and not negotiable, and should be treated as such.
The Ministers reflected on the findings of the three most recent scientific reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that focus on the implications of global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius, as well as the relationship between climate change, land, oceans and ice.
These reports provide robust scientific evidence that small island developing states are already experiencing widespread impacts from climate change and that these risks will…
