Caricom to lobby for climate change spot at UN

The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) has announced that it will lobby the United Nations for a spot on that body to address the issue of global warming in the region.

Caricom heads of government have agreed that they would collectively sponsor and lobby for the CCCCC to be designated an international centre on adaptation at the UN.

The decision was made at the 22nd Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Caricom Heads of Government last month, where leaders reinforced the urgent need to address climate change in the region.

After the conference, a communiqué was issued setting out key climate change priorities for Caricom countries.

It has been reported that the region has suffered greatly from the effects of a changing climate, and it will inevitably suffer severe consequences if strong measures are not taken at this stage.

The Caribbean shares these challenges with wider groups, including the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) and the Group of Latin America and Caribbean Countries (GRULAC); and has, over the years, worked with them to secure stronger global efforts to address climate change.

Based on these links, it has also been agreed that Caricom member states would make efforts to ensure that there is adequate and balanced representation by competent Caricom experts, through AOSIS and GRULAC, on the newly-formed governance bodies of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre will also support member states in identifying and preparing appropriate projects, in order to make use of available and emerging resources for climate change adaptation.

Executive Director of the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre, Dr Kenrick Leslie, emphasised that Caricom is seeking the highest level of ambition from the negotiations, and an agreement that will result in the peaking of global concentrations of greenhouse gases by 2015, and a decline to 350 parts per million to give the atmosphere an even chance to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

“Caricom holds the position that emission reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol are woefully inadequate,” Dr Leslie said.

He reminded the parties that the challenge is not easy. “It will require concerted global action to achieve the objectives required. This will require leadership, responsibility, and accountability,” he stated.

Climate change is no longer seen as a future threat, but as a reality that affects us all today; and while many argue about the causes and the nature of it, it is important to recognise that the world is experiencing dramatic changes that need to be addressed urgently.

For developing countries, every a fraction of a degree of further global warming will multiply the massive problems that are already undermining their national development efforts and threatening their physical survival.