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Pushing the Caribbean agenda in Paris

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St Kitts-Nevis PM makes impassioned plea at climate change conference

Dr Timothy Harris (Photo: timescaribbeanonline.com) Dr Timothy Harris (Photo: timescaribbeanonline.com)

St Kitts-Nevis Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris has called on the international community to “negotiate and agree a legally-binding agreement with ambitious emission reduction targets”.

Addressing the 21st Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Harris reiterated the seriousness and urgency of the threat posed by climate change and the need for an ambitious agreement to be reached during the two week conference.Sponsored Links

 “My delegation calls on all parties here to negotiate and agree a legally-binding agreement with ambitious emission reduction targets.  St Kitts and Nevis recommends that all parties subscribe to at least five-year commitment cycles with robust ex-ante review and ex-poste assessment processes.

“We also hope that developed country parties and other parties in a position to do so, would be encouraged to provide support to…

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CARICOM chairman tells world leaders climate change conference must have legally binding outcome

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freundel stuart Barbados’ Prime Minister and Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Chairman Freundel Stuart.

The outcome of the climate change conference now underway in Paris must be ambitious, legally binding and ensure global participation.

That was the message Barbados’ Prime Minister and Caribbean Commuinty (CARICOM) chairman Freundel Stuart delivered in a statement to leaders at the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21) in the French capital yesterday.

Stuart said the conference must take into consideration the special circumstances and needs of those countries that are most vulnerable – Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and Least Developed and Landlocked States – and deliver agreed decisions on a number of elements.

He expressed concern that the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) which countries have sumitted – that is, the post-2020 climate actions they are committing to take – are not enough to realize the goal of limiting global temperature…

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UK provides millions to aid fishing in the Caribbean

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fishermen

British Prime Minister David Cameron has set aside £5.6 million (US$8.4 million) of its overseas aid budget to go towards improving fishing in the Caribbean and other small island states.

Among the 25 Commonwealth small island nations set to benefit are: Barbados, Bermuda, Jamaica, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago.

Cameron said the money will be provided from next year to target developing maritime economy plans, with additional funding on offer for future years to help these countries implement their plans.

The funding will provide for: technical experts from the UK Hydrographic Office to locate valuable marine resources and mitigate the hazards to shipping that would otherwise make the exploitation of those resources uneconomical; the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science to work with the countries to strengthen their capacity to manage their local fisheries, tackle pollution and develop coastal infrastructure; and assistance from the National Oceanographic Centre to map…

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Concern Rising Over Massive Annual Seaweed Invasion in West Africa

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FILE - Sargassum seaweed blankets Lumley beach, Freetown, Sierra Leone, Oct. 1, 2015. (N.de Vries/VOA). FILE – Sargassum seaweed blankets Lumley beach, Freetown, Sierra Leone, Oct. 1, 2015. (N.de Vries/VOA).

Large amounts of seaweed have been washing up on the beaches of Sierra Leone and other countries in West Africa and the Caribbean. Scientists say climate change may be to blame. Local environmental protection authorities plan to bring it up at the U.N.’s climate change summit in Paris.

As Sierra Leone is trying to bounce back from the worst Ebola outbreak in history, it now is turning attention back to other pressing issues, including excessive seaweed on its pristine beaches.

The problem has been apparent for the past several years during the country’s rainy season, which can last about six months.

The beaches become entirely blanketed with sargassum seaweed. It’s normal to have some of this seaweed, but not the amount that’s been showing up lately.

Climate change may be a factor.

Climate change impact

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French ambassador: T&T leads region in Climate Change commitment

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Dr Albert Imana of Kenya reacts as Darius De Allie, a volunteer with the El Socorro Centre for Wildlife Conservation, drapes an albino python around his neck during yesterday’s IAMovement Port-of-Spain to Paris People’s Climate March at Nelson Mandela Park, in St James. PHOTO: SHIRLEY BAHADUR

French Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), Ambassador Hedi Picquart said this country is the first in the Caribbean region to show its commitment to deal with the effects of climate change.

This comes ahead of today’s conference in Paris where global leaders will meet to talk about climate change, including gas emissions and its effect on the environment.

The ambassador was speaking at the start of yesterday’s People’s Climate march titled, From Port-of-Spain to Paris 2015, which started at the Nelson Mandela Park in St James and had between 500 and 600 participants, according to director, Jonathon Barcant from the IAMovement, a non-profit…

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Marching into the climate negotiations

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Dizzanne Billy is President of the Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN) in Trinidad and Tobago, where she works in the areas of education and public awareness with regard to environment and development issues. She is a climate tracker with Adopt-A-Negotiator and an advocate for climate change action.

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The climate change movement broke records in more than ten countries around the world.12316641_981797305218699_4017826271841672710_n

The largest climate marches in history were held in Australia and the UK, with 60,000 and 50,000 people traipsing the streets of Melbourne and London. This  movement is representative of humanity; from Mongolia to Saudi Arabia and Samoa to Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), over 570, 000 people in 175 countries came together to support climate action.

In Port-of-Spain (POS), placards displayed messages such as “Global warming is not cool,” “Less talk, more action,” and “1.5 to stay alive,” representing  a foundation for the implementation of  policies.   At the…

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Why is COP 21 Important for the Caribbean? 11 points our negotiators are championing

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The 21st Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 11th session of the Meeting of the Parties to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol are underway in Paris. COP 21 is expected to result in a legally binding and universal agreement on climate, from all the nations of the world.

The future of the Caribbean depends on a binding and ambitious global agreement at COP 21. A bold agreement that curbs greenhouse gas emissions to limit the global rise in temperature to below two Degrees Celsius  is needed to safeguard our food, critical industries such as tourism, infrastructure and promote renewable energy. Perused our informational card “Why is COP 21 Important?” for more context and the region’s 11 point negotiating position leading up to COP 21.

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Students and Minister Visit the CCCCC

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Students of Compassion Primary School in Yo Creek Village, Orange Walk District, Belize visited the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) on Friday, November 20.

The teaching team that accompanied the students were elated, noting: “It is never too early to learn about climate change and that is why we wanted the children to visit the Centre on Children’s Day.” The students were eager to learn about how Climate Change is affecting their country, as well as the the mitigation work being undertaken by the Centre. They were further animated by the presence of Mr Omar Figueroa, Minister of State with responsibility for Environment, Sustainable development and Climate Change, who encouraged them to continue to show strong interest in climate change concerns and get involved with schools-based projects.

Carlos Fuller, the Regional Liaison Officer at the  Centre, introduced the students to a wide-ranging of climate change concepts and the broader regional…

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Caribbean environmental experts explore climate change and public health responses

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Flooding in Cuba *Photo credits: IPS News Flooding in Cuba *Photo credits: IPS News

The Caribbean, mainly comprised of small island nations, is the world’s most tourist-dependent region, and one of the most vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change.

Within recent times, the Region has experienced more frequent and severe storms and hurricanes, increases in mosquito-borne diseases, rises in sea level, prolonged periods of drought and salt water intrusion of coastal groundwater sources, which pose a significant threat to human health.

Recognizing the critical need to be more climate change resilient, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), UNEP-Caribbean Regional Coordinating Unit (UNEP CAR-RCU), and the Government of Saint Lucia, will host a Conference to address issues related to climate change and health.

Dr.-James-Hospedales-1024x682 CARPHA Executive Director Dr. James Hospedales said that because Climate Change threatens traditional public health infrastructure, the focus will be on environmental…

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St Lucian Youth Raise Their Voices Ahead of COP21

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The Saint Lucia chapter of the Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN), a network of environmentally conscious young adults, recently launched its “1.5 to Stay Alive” statement and petition on the popular global Change.org platform.

The group is aiming to attract over one million signatures by the end of the month.  They have since distributed within the global GEF SGP system with 124 countries and over 20,000 CSOs.

View the petition here.

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