Last Updated on November 9, 2021, 6:42 AM AST by Anthony Morris
UK: Over the two weeks, from November 1 to 12, world leaders, negotiators and international institutions gathered in Glasgow, Scotland, for the 26th United Nations Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP26) in the hope of agreeing a comprehensive plan that is being developed to avoid a global climate crisis.
In what is billed as the most critical climate meeting since the Paris Agreement, an international treaty on climate change agreed between world leaders at the United Nations Climate Conference in 2015, this year’s conference aims to hold countries to account for their commitment to reduce the global greenhouse effect substantially gas emissions and give financing to developing nations to decrease climate change.
Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Sustainable Development and Culture, Carlos James, who has the responsibility of climate change affairs, leaves the state on Wednesday and will drive a four-member delegation to the climate summit as part of the efforts of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to strengthen the position of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS).
According to Minister James, the climate summit represents an essential call to action to hold developed nations accountable as the main contributors of greenhouse gas emissions.
After a solid and positive opening of the conference during the plenary session attended by leaders of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), AOSIS negotiators and ministers are now planning for an intense round of discussions in an all-out effort to circumvent a climate crisis.
To repeal this pending geophysical crisis, Minister James stated, it will be necessary to cut current global emissions by half by 2030 and to zero by 2050, while demanding greater financial support for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to strengthen their resilience to climate impacts through the implementation of mitigation and adaptation measures.
Minister James said that the catastrophic effects caused by climate change are a global crisis that goes beyond national borders and needs international cooperation and collaborative solutions at all levels.
He remarked that the world’s 20 largest economies, which make up the G20 countries, are liable for emitting nearly 80 percent of global carbon emissions, while their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are well beneath what is required to ensure that global temperatures stay below 1.5 degrees.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
