The Prime Minister has stressed collaboration among CARICOM members states and Latin America, which she described as “at-risk’ nations who need to join together more than ever to combat climate change and its adverse effects.
In a speech to the XXII Forum of Ministers of Environment for Latin America and the Caribbean virtually on Monday, Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley stressed to the online participants, that it was incumbent on all countries within the region and further abroad to attack the issues surrounding climate change collectively if states are to achieve the 2030 Agenda, which aims to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development.
She said: “We all know this [2030 Agenda) has been compromised by the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is for that reason we need to have a collaborative and coordinated approach on all that we do. Let me explain why – if we had had a coordinated approach even to the shutdown that individual countries across the Americas and across the world are undertaking, in defiance of their own people, then we would have had, and could still have, a realistic chance of fighting COVID in a way, and eliminate it from the global landscape.
“Our ability to do so has been compromised by the fact that each of us has taken individual action, rather than globally coordinated actions. This is the perfect example of why multilateralism must work for our benefit if we are to make a difference for our people across the region.”
Mottley told delegates from across the region at the virtual forum that it is the duty of small nations to band together and use their political might to effect change that can be noticeable on the world stage.
She declared: “Environmental challenges travel across boundaries and do bring nations together if we allow it, but we must have the political will for that to happen. It is a platform that can enable credible regional cooperation and action and as I said, this must remain our common mission, as we recommit and support each other on this journey. Solidarity and yes, compassion, are essential today in the midst of the devastating crisis, and will be essential if we are to leave no one behind.”
Talks among the hemisphere’s environment ministers continue through to Tuesday on pressing environmental issues of the region, opportunities for green recovery and urgent actions in the next decade to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. (SB)
