The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is preparing for its participation in the Twenty-Ninth Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and has already named ministerial leads for advocacy in key negotiation areas, a release from the CARICOM Secretariat stated yesterday.
The conference is scheduled to take place from November 11 to 22, in Baku, Azerbaijan, and will see CARICOM Member States advocating for urgent climate action and robust financial commitments to address the unique vulnerabilities of Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
According to the release, CARICOM’s approach to COP29 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 pointed out that this 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.
Ministerial Leadership and Advocacy
As part of its preparations for COP29, CARICOM stated that it will continue its advocacy at several key events, with coordinated messaging. Further, to enhance the region’s representation and coordination, five Minis-terial Champions have been identified for key negotiation areas: i) Just Transition – Minister of Planning and Development of Trinidad and Tobago, Pennelope Beckles-Robinson; ii) Finance and the New Collective Quan-tified Goal (NCQG) – Minister of Sustainable Development and Climate Change of Belize, Orlando Habet; iii) Global Stock-take – Minister of Climate Resilience, the Environ-ment, and Renewable Energy of Grenada, Kerryne James; iv) Ma-rets – Minister of Spatial Planning and Environment of Suriname, Dr. Marciano Dasai; and v) Adaptation – Minister for the Environ-ment, Rural Modernisation and Kalinago Upliftment of Dominica, Cozier Frederick.
A Ministerial Champion will also be identified for Loss and Damage.
The release noted that these Ministers will spearhead high-level political advocacy at the upcoming negotiations and engage in key bilateral meetings in the margins, to ensure CARICOM priorities are recognised and reflected in COP29 outcomes.
At their Forty-Seventh Regular Meeting held July 28 to 30, CARICOM Heads of Government reiterated the importance of unified advocacy and messaging in the annual climate negotiations, emphasising the urgency of climate action and a robust climate finance goal to meet the needs of SIDS. This, CARICOM emphasised, is “crucial” as Member States of CARICOM repair the damage from Hurricane Beryl, whose record strength in June resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in damages at the start of the annual Atlantic hurricane season.
The Community is expected to have a strong presence at COP 29, including Heads of Government, Ministers, negotiators, youth delegates, and experts from the CARICOM Secretariat and other regional institutions, the release added.
