#Bahamas, August 5, 2022 – The Bahamas will host the first Caribbean Regional Meeting of Heads of Government in preparation for COP27 in Nassau, Bahamas on 16-17 August 2022.
The inaugural event is being presented by the Government of The Bahamas with the aim of drafting a regional position on climate change mitigation ahead of COP 27 which will take place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt 6-20 November 2022.
Invited participants include Heads of State from the following countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla,
Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago and Turks and Caicos.
The Government of The Bahamas intends to make the meeting an annual event and will seek to place it as a regular meeting on the calendar of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
“The Bahamas is presenting this conference as we seek to get results in the fight against climate change,” Prime Minister Hon. Philip Davis, Prime Minister of the Bahamas said ahead of the talks.
“The Bahamas, along with the region, have lobbied year after year, meeting after meeting, as we have asked the world to recognize our vulnerable position.”
“This meeting will position the Caribbean region to take control of our destiny and present a unified position to the world at COP27,” added Prime Minister Davis.
The meeting also aims to create a Caribbean response outside of conventional Latin
America-Caribbean pairing to better reflect the shared geographic and geopolitical issues of the Caribbean states.
“What we have been missing in the region is a strategy that would help us in our negotiation process when we go to the conferences of the parties referred to as COPs,” says Rochelle Newbold, Special Adviser on Climate Change and Environmental Affairs and Car Climate Tsar in the Office of the Prime Minister in the Bahamas.
“This year will be COP number 27 and, as a region, we have never put forward a strategy document or a goal of how we want to address the issues we face within the region collectively,” Newbold added.
The conference agenda will also focus on renewable energy, energy security, climate adaptation, climate finance, loss and damage due to tropical weather systems and the creation of a framework for the sale of carbon credits.
Delegates attending COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland in December 2021 signed a global climate agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and counter global warming by limiting the rise in Earth’s temperature to a threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The phenomenon of global warming has been linked to more frequent and aggressive hurricanes in the Caribbean, which have subjected the region to billions of dollars in damages and forced countries into heavy debt.
commitments.
According to Assessment of Effects and Impacts of Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas The report released by the Inter-American Development Bank in March 2022, damages and losses from Hurricane Dorian reached 3.4 billion dollars, a quarter of the country’s GDP.
A heat wave sweeping the United States and Europe is also being attributed to rising temperatures.
The UK recorded temperatures above 40°C (104°F) for the first time in July 2022, according to local forecasters.
“We know that if we reach that 1.5°C and exceed it, everything changes for everyone. While landlocked countries and large continents like South America will experience a change, island states will experience that change threefold and fourfold.”
“With this meeting we will have everyone facing the same level of threat sit down together, discuss the options, consider what is being suggested and how realistic it will be.” For us, this is a fundamental thing that we should have done a long time ago,” said Newbold.
At the conclusion of the meeting, a Chair’s Summary detailing the scope of the discussions as well as the key messages and ideas emerging will be made available. Additionally, the region plans to launch an initiative at COP27 to advance advocacy efforts on behalf of Caribbean states.
Photo caption: During the weekly press conference, in his office, on August 4, 2022, the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Mr. Philip Davis announced that the Bahamas will host the Caribbean Regional Meeting of Heads of Government, August 16-17, 2022 at the Baha Mar Resort. (BIS Photos/Eric Rose)
For press inquiries:
Clint Watson, press secretary
Prime Minister’s Office
Commonwealth of the Bahamas [email protected]
