Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Rt. Honourable Freundel Stuart, Prime Minister of Barbados, has applauded the historic Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The adoption in Paris on Saturday, 12 December 2015, followed the conclusion of the 21st Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
In a statement on the adoption of the Agreement, Prime Minister Stuart said CARICOM welcomed the globally binding commitment to combat Climate Change, and believed it will “bring us closer to the goal of maintaining global average temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius and along a clear trajectory downwards towards 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.”
He said the actions and investment approved in the Agreement will advance the realisation of goals to lower greenhouse gas emissions, greater resilience and sustainable development, especially among the Small Island and low-lying coastal Developing States (SIDS).
CARICOM’s interests were strongly represented in a focussed and coordinated manner by Heads of Government, Ministers, the CARICOM Secretary-General and his staff, and a team of experienced and skilled negotiators led by Dr the Honourable James Fletcher, the Chairman said.
He noted CARICOM’s satisfaction that its strong advocacy ensured that the Agreement reflected its position on major red line issues, including financing activities in SIDS and support for REDD+ (efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and the sustainable management of forests).
Please see the full text of the Chairman’s Statement:
On behalf of the Governments and People of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and in my capacity as Chairman of CARICOM, I applaud the historic adoption of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change by 195 nations in the French capital on Saturday, after several years of discussions and an intense negotiation period from 30 November to 12 December 2015.
The Community welcomes this globally binding commitment to combat Climate Change. We believe that the actions and investment approved in the Agreement will bring us closer to the goal of maintaining global average temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius and along a clear trajectory downwards towards 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.
That Agreement will also help to realise the goals of lower greenhouse gas emissions, greater resilience and sustainable development, especially among the Small Island and low-lying coastal Developing States (SIDS), with the most vulnerable populations, such as the countries of the Caribbean. We determinedly and successfully promoted recognition of the special circumstances and vulnerabilities of SIDS, which are among the lowest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, but are the most threatened by climate change.
Our Community is already experiencing the effects of climate change, particularly with the intensification of climatic events and unusual weather patterns, as demonstrated in recent catastrophic events in St. Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica and The Bahamas.
CARICOM’s interests were strongly represented in a focussed and coordinated manner by Heads of Government, Ministers, the CARICOM Secretary-General and his staff, and a team of experienced and skilled negotiators led by Dr the Honourable James Fletcher. We are satisfied that our strong advocacy helped to ensure that the Agreement reflected the Region’s position on our major red line issues.
The Region’s successful campaign, built around the slogan “1.5 to Stay Alive”, received energetic support from several groups and organizations, including youths and cultural artistes, whose efforts must be applauded.
The Agreement reflects the Region’s position on financing support for the implementation activities in SIDS, including a baseline contribution of 100 Billion USD by 2020 and future additional provisions. This will significantly strengthen our capacity to attain the ambitious goals of Climate Change adaptation. We also applaud the proposed international cooperation on Climate-Change-friendly technologies and capacity building in developing countries as another adaptation measure.
The Region was also at the forefront of the successful campaign for inclusion of Loss and Damage as a distinct element in the Agreement, which goes beyond adaptation and addresses irreversible losses and permanent impact on CARICOM and other SIDS, resulting from human induced climate change. Our team also left the negotiations satisfied with the support received on REDD-Plus (Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation).
We congratulate the Government of France for guiding an inclusive and transparent process in which small States, like those in CARICOM, had a respected voice alongside bigger, more powerful nations. We particularly recall the initiative of the French President Mr. Francois Hollande to convene a pre-COP21 meeting earlier this year with CARICOM Heads of Government in Martinique.
The task now is to ensure that the provisions of this legally-binding Agreement are implemented. The international community must now retain the energising and uplifting spirit of Paris in the process going forward. The world expects no less.
