Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders have agreed to maintain the diplomatic engagement at international levels in support of the 1.5°C goal coming out of the COP 21 Agreement signed in Paris, France, last year.

Prime Minister of Belize and Chairman of the Community, the Hon Dean Barrow, referred to the commitment while speaking about climate change during the closing press conference of the Twenty-Seventh Intersessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government the CARICOM in Placencia, Belize, on Wednesday 17 February, 2016. PM Barrow said the Task Force on Sustainable Development, led by Dr. the Honourable James Fletcher, and the team of negotiators and experts would continue their work to facilitate the implementation of the Agreement reached in Paris.

The Chairman also disclosed that the Heads would participate in the high level signing ceremony of the Paris Agreement, to be convened by the United Nations Secretary-General, on 22 April, 2016, in New York.  He said that to underline their commitment to ensuring its implementation, they would sign the Agreement and deposit their instruments of ratification at that time or soonest thereafter.

COP 21 refers to the 21^st Conference of the parties to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change. The result of the last COP 21 which was held in Paris, France in 2015 was an international agreement on climate change to keep global warming below 2°C.