CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC – Prime Minister Phillip J Pierre Friday said he expects next week’s Caribbean Community (CARICOM)-Canada summit to enhance further the region’s efforts to get the international community to honor their commitments to assisting small island developing states (SIDS) deal with the impact of climate change.
Speaking at a news conference at the Hewanorra International Airport as he prepared to attend the October 17-19 summit in Ottawa, Pierre told reporters that he and his CARCOM colleagues would look to the North American country to put forward their case.
“Regarding climate resilience, we know the world will not meet the 1.5 degrees Celsius global warming. There are serious issues as it relates to that. We have seen the devastating effects of floods, droughts, earthquakes, etc,
“Canada is committed to assisting us in this regard. But having said so, the rest of the international world has not met its commitment of the US$100 billion that they promised to give the developing world regarding climate resilience…or even climate mitigation.
“So hopefully, we think that our traditional friends, like Canada, can help stir that level of interest, can help to say to the international world, listen, you are the ones causing the problems…and the science has proved that he developed world are the biggest emitters that cause issues related to climate change.
“So what we hope to get from this summit is, hopefully, our issues can be promoted to the international world,” Pierre told reporters.
He said in terms of finance, a look at the debt profile of the region and of St. Lucia in particular, “you will find we have had to borrow the most after a hurricane.
“In some countries like Dominica, a hurricane wrote off 97 percent of their GDP (gross domestic product). So, you cannot treat us like you treat countries regarding development financing.
“So we are looking for special and differential treatment. We are looking for loss and damage clauses as far as our borrowing is concerned,” he said, adding, “There is a discussion going on that most of our debts should be written off, but it is difficult.
“So there are different things on the table. There is the Bridgetown Accord that says we have to look for financing that is of a longer term. There is also an accord that says we have to measure our resilience so that we cannot deal with a loan in terms that you can’t measure our resilience to climate shocks. So these are the discussions we intend to have,” Pierre said.
During the news conference, Pierre defended the decision of his administration to renew the diplomatic relationship with Venezuela, which he visited last weekend.
He said during his talks with President Nicolas Maduro, the issue of the border dispute between Caracas and Guyana was raised, and “the issue came up that the Caribbean must be a zone of peace.
“We urge dialogue between Venezuela and Guyana, which CARICOM should facilitate because they are two countries in our region, they are two countries within our sphere. Guyana is a member of CARICOM, so we are saying, let’s not quarrel. Let’s discuss our issues amicably.
“President Maduro asked me to discuss that situation with President (Irfaan) Ali. So together with CARICOM, we will have that discussion,” Pierre added.
Guyana has instituted proceedings against Venezuela by Application to the International Court of Justice )ICJ) on March 29, 2018, asking the Court to resolve the controversy that has arisen as a result of Venezuela’s contention, formally asserted for the first time in 1962, that the 1899 Arbitral Award Regarding the Boundary between the Colony of British Guiana and the United States of Venezuela is “null and void.”
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