Amrikha Singh, Programme Manager for Sustainable Development at the CARICOM Secretariat, participated in a forum on financing biodiversity conservation in infrastructure projects in Cali, Colombia on Wednesday 23 October. The event was held during the Conference of Parties to the UN Biodiversity Convention (COP16) which is underway in the South American nation.
Georgetown, Guyana – October 3, 2024 – The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is preparing for the Twenty-Ninth Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which is scheduled to take place from 11-22 November 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan. This pivotal event will see CARICOM Member States advocating for urgent climate action and robust financial commitments to address the unique vulnerabilities of Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
Barbados joins Belize as the second CARICOM Member State to ratify the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement). The Agreement was adopted during the 79th United Nations General Assembly. During this period, Jamaica also signed the Treaty joining Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Dominica, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Bridgetown, Barbados – September 10, 2024 – The CARICOM Development Fund (CDF) has made a cash contribution of US$100,000 or approximately EC$270,000 from its Emergency Disaster Assistance Facility (EDAF) to the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to assist in recovery efforts following the devastating impact of Hurricane Beryl on July 1, 2024.
The Caribbean Region faces existential threats, including biodiversity loss which continue to be a major challenge for global leaders and conservationists. Many plant and animal species in the Region are critically endangered, including the Grenada dove, the hawksbill turtle, the Antiguan racer, and the Saint Lucian racer—the rarest snake in the world. These are just a few among the over 200 critically endangered species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and plants in the Caribbean Region.
“CARPHA’s multisectoral Rapid Response Team stands ready to provide immediate support in surveillance, food, water and environmental safety and vector-borne disease control to our Member States. Our regional referral laboratories are also ready to provide rapid testing of clinical, food, water and environmental samples as needed.”
Dr Lisa Indar, Ad Interim Executive Director at CARPHA
A team from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) held discussions with representatives of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) on the margins of the Fourth International Conference on Small Islands Developing States (SIDS4) in Antigua and Barbuda last month. The CARICOM team comprised Dr. Carla Barnett, Secretary-General; Ministers of Environment of Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines; Ambassadors of Barbados and Belize; senior officials of Suriname and representatives of the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC).
The practical ways that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat can support the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in its preparations for COP 29 was a key topic when a CARICOM team held talks with the UNFCCC.
The discussions on Monday 27 May, were held during the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States in Antigua and Barbuda, and also focused on the outcomes of COP 28.
Dr. Carla Barnett, CARICOM Secretary-General, on Tuesday continued rounds of bilateral meetings in Antigua and Barbuda that focused on support to CARICOM, sustainable development, climate change and foreign policy matters.
The Secretary-General engaged in talks with Norway, Romania, and Japan on the margins of the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4) in Antigua and Barbuda.
As CARICOM, and all SIDS, continue to bear the brunt of global climate change – climate change that we do not cause - we are alarmed by the apparent drawback by some in the international community from the ambition necessary to limit increases in global temperature to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.