The second Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) High-Level Dialogue on Climate Change was held in Grenada at the end of September, with leaders from the region coming together to chart a way forward on multiple climate challenges according to a press release from the UN Climate Change agency who supported the event.
The meeting resulted in a comprehensive document which outlines the key actions for the future. It can be found on this link Outcome Document outlining key actions for the future on the UNFCC website.
The document outlines the key actions under six themes which are as follows.
(1). Strengthening resilience and achieving prosperity in the face of increasing climate change impacts: boosting adaptation and addressing loss and damage;
(2). Financing the transition to renewable energy in the Caribbean;
(3). Transforming international financial architecture, blue economy and carbon pricing;
(4). Enabling access to blue and green finance and regional collaboration on carbon pricing mechanisms: impacts and opportunities in biological systems;
(5). Accelerating e-mobility: lowering costs, reducing emissions, and building reliable transportation systems through electrification; and,
(6). Building stronger national systems for climate transparency
At face value, it is a very positive outcome, the leaders of the region agreeing to speak with one voice at the next COP; a comprehensive public education and awareness programme with regard to climate change; investment in clean and sustainable energy; however there is a great deal to unpack here, this is one of many articles which will attempt to do this.
We begin by addressing the notion of ‘what we can do for ourselves’.
The press statement talks about the leaders ‘delving into the diverse tapestry of the Caribbean’s biological systems … discussed the impacts of climate change and explored the opportunities afforded by ocean, forests and land.’
They found that ‘these discussions underscored the need to safeguard these ecosystems and leverage their potential for sustainable growth’.
If you have been living or taking notice of what has been happening in the Caribbean for the past few years, there has been very little safeguarding of our ecosystems, particularly our mangroves where developers have been allowed to come into islands such as Grenada and destroy what is our front line protection against climate change – coastal vegetation.
Look around Grenada, our largest natural resources are under siege or have already been trashed; La Sagesse, Mt Hartman and Levera, all being razed to the ground and in some cases before permission is even granted by the Planning Authority.
In Barbuda, laws were changed after the passage of Hurricane Irma, to take the rights to communal land from its inhabitants and sell to developers. Is this how we protect and safeguard our ecosystems and people’s rights?
We often hear talk about Government lands, do Governments own lands, or do they belong to the people of any said country?
This brings us to the crux of the matter, is this document merely another talking point? Are regional leaders saying one thing but doing another? We all know talk is cheap, particularly when action is what is needed.
How can we be demanding funds for loss and reparation when we are not defending our own resources, and more to the point, actively supporting the destroyers, is this not hypocrisy?
Sand mining continues unabated in various parts of Grenada and Carriacou with nothing being said by the administration, no public statement, despite repeated requests from community groups.
We are complicit in our own demise, therefore, shouldn’t one of the key tasks be that we begin to challenge our own behaviour?
Grenada Land Actors