CARICOM Secretary-General, Dr. Carla Barnett, over the past week, held discussions with key figures in the margins of the Twenty-Ninth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in Baku, Azerbaijan. The two-week Conference of the Parties opened on 11 November.

On Thursday 14 November, the Secretary-General met Dr. Mohammed Nagdee, Executive Director of the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE).

The Secretary-General held talks also with Jeyhun Bayramov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Discussions centred on prospects for future areas of cooperation and activities with CARICOM, priorities of the COP29 presidency, and Azerbaijan initiatives on support for climate action efforts of Small Island Developing States.

On this same day, the Secretary-General’s engagements continued when she met with Mr. Ibrahima Cheikh Diong, the inaugural Executive Director of the Loss and Damage Fund.

At COP 29, CARICOM’s approach is anchored in the principles of limiting global warming to below 1.5°C, emphasising science-driven action and reinforcing the special circumstances of SIDS. It is a landmark year for financing as CARICOM seeks to secure a climate finance goal that guarantees access for SIDS to grant-based or concessional finance, especially for Adaptation and Loss and Damage respectively, through minimum allocation floors and highest levels of concessionality for SIDS.