CLIMATE ACTION, REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS AND GLOBAL SOLIDARITY

The UN Climate Action  Summit (September 23) and follow up discussions at the UN General Assembly  and the media are attracting worldwide attention. UN Secretary-General António Guterres requested leaders from government, business and civil society to come up with plans to address the global climate emergency. Chief among them was to increase their commitments to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement (2015) “to work toward reducing emissions by at least 45% by 2030 and to essentially zero by mid-century". In the intervening period, there. has been a hive of activities that  goad the Caribbean Region to consolidate its climate advocacy and action.  The outcomes from each of these activities combine as a clarion call to accelerate  the response to Climate adaption and resilience with regional partnerships and global solidarity as imperatives.

First ,  The Youth Climate Summit was an  historic event on the weekend leading up to the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit. It  was complemented by the Youth Climate Strikes in major cities throughout the world. At the centre of these platforms  was 16 year old Greta Thunberg from Sweden whose stirring address to the UN Summit resonated among all stakeholders, including entrepreneurs and change-makers mindful of protecting our planet.  Ms. Thumberg demanded swift action to fight climate change and chided leaders for yielding few commitments for environmental overhaul. See her emotional speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43q15ncwzWo


Second was  the launching  of the European Union funded/Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (5Cs) Project, Enhancing Climate Resilience in CARIFORUM Countries  that took  place in Barbados.  Its aim is to establish a Global Water Partnership with Caribbean organizations forming a focal point. This is the latest in a series of programmes pioneered by 5Cs which include an Electric School Bus Pilot and a grid -interactive Solar PV System for Schools and Health Clinics in Antigua and Barbuda; Transitioning to National Energy Security : Bartica as a Model Green Town in Guyana; Implementing a Solar Electricity System for a Low Income Residential Development in Ouanaminthe in Haiti ; Solar Carport and Electric Vehicle  Charging Station in St Lucia; and a Salt Water Reverse Osmosis system (SWRO) Destalinization powered by Photo Voltaic (PV) Renewable Energy System in St Vincent and the Grenadines.  


Third is  the article  in Forbes Magazine reporting that  of the top thirty global polluters per capita, ten are from the Caribbean region. These are Trinidad & Tobago, Antigua & Barbuda, St. Kitts & Nevis, Guyana, Barbados, St. Lucia, Bahamas, Grenada, Anguilla and Aruba.  It was revealed that every year, these ten island nations generate more plastic debris than the weight of 20,000 space shuttles. There is no doubt need for waste management and waste infrastructure, such as garbage collection, recycling centres and secure landfills  to be improved. However, it was refreshing to note the balanced conclusion arrived at by the author that is important to arguments for climate justice: "It is too simplistic to make global comparisons based on absolute numbers. Ranking total plastic waste production per country masks global systems of inequality and overlooks the vulnerability of small, seemingly “insignificant” coastal communities. Rather than vilifying individual countries, we must deconstruct systems of inequality that perpetuate plastic pollution and increase vulnerability among select populations" https://www.forbes.com/sites/daphneewingchow/2019/09/20/caribbean-islands-are-the-biggest-plastic-polluters-per-capita-in-the-world/#182ebff3774b
 
Fourth, there was a most informative  symposium  Global Partnership for Climate Action Symposium  co-sponsored by University of the West Indies and State University of New York (SUNY)  at SUNY.  It is a capstone for the Caribbean response to the three types of activities above.  GOFAD could only inadequately summarize the robust discussions by highlighting the following takeaways:    

• The Liliandaal Declaration on Climate Change from the CARICOM Heads of Government Conference (July 2007) in Guyana and the role of CARICOM - led by  5Cs and UWI experts that advocated fearlessly at the 2009 UN Climate Change Conference (COP) in Copenhagen for "1.5 to stay Alive"
• Greater involvement of youth and their advocacy for climate action.  The important roles of the Caribbean Youth Environmental Network and the CARIOM Youth Ambassador Corp should be fostered.  
• A Programme  of "science for resilience" an initiative of UWI and 4 other core partners predicated on the assumption of  unlocking the barriers to transformative science that focus on the Caribbean reality.     
• The Climate Smart Accelerator (Fund)  intended to make the Caribbean the first climate resilient region in the World.  This being an illustration of how a group of small states by collective action and  sustainable financing "can turn vulnerability into an opportunity".  
• Other issues raised included the links between Reparations and Climate Justice; policies to reduce the plight of  the growing number of climate refugees; the Climate Resilience Fund to facilitate the viability of green industries; and "migrating university research to influence policy by  creating pathways from the faculties into government policies".
• The refrain from the symposium that is aligned to the profound advocacy  by 16 year old Greta Thunberg at the US congressional Session on September 20, 2019    - "Listen to the Scientist. Unite behind the Science and then take Action" 

After  listening  to the absorbing panel discussions at the UWI-SUNY symposium I wrote the following note to my colleagues "I feel even more justified in promoting the dream of a Caribbean Pan Caribbean Partnership for Climate Action". 

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