Dubai, CMC- St. Lucia Prime Minister Phillip J Pierre has called on the international community to transform the world into a safer place for the next generation, insisting that Taiwan must not be left out.
St Lucia is among a handful of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries with diplomatic relations with Taiwan that China regards as a renegade province. It has urged countries to adopt the One China policy in their foreign relations with Beijing.
Addressing the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), Pierre said that the world is in “uncharted territory” and that the opportunities to secure a liveable planet for all are narrowing.
“With the climate crises raging around the world, affecting not only Small Island Developing States, like St. Lucia and the members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) but developed countries as well, we are here to join hands together, uniting as a collective, to take ambitious action, with a sense of urgency to course-correct.
“We are here to ensure that every party answers our call at this COP, to put us on a pathway that does not further compromise the futures of not only our particularly vulnerable nations but all of our nations.”
Pierre said that the impacts have devastated the Caribbean and that loss and damage have struck the core of regional economies and societies.
“At one extreme, lives and livelihoods have been lost. At the other extreme, our environment is under siege,” he said, adding that St. Lucia welcomes the decision to, at last, make the loss and damage fund functional and look forward to the pledges to make it a reality.”
Pierre said it is a fact that the international financial environment is ill-suited to support vulnerable countries’ access to affordable, sustainable, predictable, and scalable finance. He said that to address these economic challenges, CARICOM states are pursuing readiness projects to access finance better.
“We are also pursuing innovative financial initiatives from conservation bonds to disaster clauses and exploring new opportunities in carbon markets. We are pushing for a Reform Agenda for international financial institutions through the Bridgetown Initiative and new economic measurements that will include our vulnerability, like the Caribbean Development Bank’s Recovery Duration Adjustment (RDA).”
Pierre said the world is nearing the 1.5°C warming threshold and must put people first before economic ratios and statistics.
“We must leave Dubai assured of three key messages. We leaders must commit to pursuing 1.5°C pathways for just, equitable, and accelerated transition, accelerate progress in implementing the Global Goal on Adaptation, and deliver transformative finance for a 1.5°C agenda,” he added.
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