Last Updated on May 29, 2024, 4:55 AM AST by Anthony Morris
Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew participated in a high-level side event during his scheduled engagements in Antigua for the fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4).
The event hosted under the theme, “Re-aligning Climate Finance: Accelerating Equal Access and Inclusion,” served as a crucial step in the fight against climate change. The event was jointly hosted by the Caribbean Women in Leadership (CIWIL) Caribbean Development Bank, and other key partners.
This side event tackled the issue of access to climate financing for small island states. Regarding climate change and its far-reaching impact on livelihoods and the environment, Prime Minister Terrance Drew said that education and awareness activities are essential at all levels of society to increase action.
Prime Minister Terrance Drew noted, “We must ensure that at every stage there is a connection- from the grassroots level upwards; otherwise, we are not going to get anywhere.”
He also shared his administration’s vision of transforming St. Kitts and Nevis into a sustainable island state that would benefit everyone.
PM Terrance Drew was joined by major leaders on the high-level panel: Nana Oye Hesse-Bayne, President of CIWIL; Diane Quarless, Director of Caribbean Office of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC); Samantha Marshall, Minister of Youth and Gender Affairs of Antigua and Barbuda; Therese Turner-Jones, Vice President (Ag.) of the Caribbean Development Bank and other prominent ministers.
Dr. Joyelle Clarke, St Kitts and Nevis’s Minister of Sustainable Development et al., and Dr. Mutryce Williams, Permanent Representative of St. Kitts and Nevis to the United Nations, were also in attendance.
Panelists also shared their perspectives on innovative multilateral, multistakeholder approaches and better practices to climate finance, which can increase equitable access and distribution of finance at the community level and support local, women-led climate action.
The event concluded with the viewpoint that every sector of the government, be it private or community groups, needs to be sensitized to the Sustainable Island State Agenda so that all their actions can be focused on helping to achieve what the government is seeking to achieve in sustainability practically.
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.
