Unfair reality – Those who have contributed least to the climate change problem are facing its most severe impacts

Deputy Permanent Representative of Barbados to the United Nations (UN), Ambassador Juliette Riley, believes that unless substantial and sustained action is taken immediately in respect to climate change, the consequences for the world will be catastrophic.

She also lamented to the UN that the painful irony is that those who have contributed least to the climate change problem are facing its most severe impacts.

“CARICOM calls on parties to the upcoming Climate Change Conference in Warsaw to undertake the work necessary to ensure that the world is on track in 2020 to meet the below 2 degrees global goal for temperature increase.

“In this regard, CARICOM believes Warsaw must achieve the following: The establishment of an international mechanism to address loss and damage from climate change impacts; clarity from developed countries on climate finance pathways to ensure that finance meets the $100 billion by 2020 target; and in this regard a speedy operationalisation of the Green Climate Fund; meaningful progress towards closing the pre-2020 mitigation ambition gap to minimise and avoid the potentially
catastrophic impact of climate change,” she highlighted.

Ambassador Riley stressed that CARICOM believes the Samoa Conference in 2014 will present a pivotal moment for the integration of SIDS’ sustainable development aspirations into the broader global development agenda.

“It will also be an invaluable opportunity for the international community to enhance its commitment to the pursuit of a more integrated approach to the creation of enabling environments in support of the sustainable development of SIDS. We anticipate an outcome that reinvigorates the commitment of the international community to a global partnership that enables SIDS to eradicate poverty, build resilience and improve their quality of life.”

The Deputy Permanent Represen-tative further noted that CARICOM welcomes the designation of 2014 as the international year of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) as a means of mobilising support for the conference, and renewed the region’s pledge to remain engaged in that process. (TL)