-rails against fossil fuels
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres yesterday told CARICOM Heads of a plan to defeat criminal gangs in Haiti and he kept up his campaign against fossil fuels and urged the need for clean power.
Addressing the opening of the 48th meeting of Heads in Barbados, Guterres hailed the “exquisite beauty” of the region but added that “there is trouble in paradise”.
He said: “Wave after wave of crisis is pounding your people and your islands – with no time to catch your breath before the next disaster strikes: Geopolitical tensions fuelling uncertainty… The scarring effects of COVID-19 leaving a trail of socio-economic crisis… Soaring debt and interest rates, on top of a surge in the cost of living…
“All amidst a deadly swell of climate disasters – ripping development gains to shreds, and blowing holes through your national budgets…
“And all as you remain locked-out of many international institutions – one of the many legacies of colonialism today”.
He said he saw three key areas where progress must be driven.
He said that the first was the need for unity for peace and security. He said that this was particularly needed to address the “appalling situation” in Haiti – where he said that gangs are inflicting intolerable suffering on a desperate and frightened people.
“We must keep working for a political process – owned and led by the Haitians – that restores democratic institutions through elections”, he said.
He added that he will soon report to the United Nations Security Council on the situation in Haiti, including proposals on the role the UN can play to support stability and security and address the root causes of the crisis.
“It is my intention to present to the Security Council a proposal that is very similar to the one that we have presented for Somalia, in which the UN assumes the responsibility of the structural and logistical expenditures that are necessary to put the force in place. And the salaries of the force are paid through the trust fund that already exists.
“And if the Security Council will accept this proposal, we will have the conditions to finally have an effective force to defeat the gangs in Haiti and create the conditions for democracy to thrive”, he said.
Approval of China and Russia on the security council for such a plan in Haiti could be problematic, observers have noted.
In the presence of President Irfaan Ali and other CARICOM Heads, the second issue Guterres homed in on was unity on the climate crisis.
“You face a deplorable injustice: A crisis you have done next to nothing to create is wrecking economies, ruining lives, and threatening your very existence. Together, you have fought tooth and nail for the global commitment to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees. This year, countries must deliver new national climate action plans, ahead of COP30, that align with that goal, with the G20 – the big polluters – leading the way. This is a chance for the world to get a grip on emissions. And it is also a chance for the Caribbean to seize the benefits of clean power… To tap your vast renewables potential… And to turn your back on costly fossil fuel imports”, he said.
Gutteres has in the past argued strongly for the end of investment in fossil fuels extraction and this has put him at odds with Georgetown.
Last June, Reuters reported that Guterres said that countries must confront not just the fossil-fuel industry, but also companies that support efforts to obstruct climate action.
Reuters said that the UN chief called the industry out for spending billions on “distorting the truth, deceiving the public, and sowing doubt” about climate change, while investing just “a measly 2.5%” of its total capital on clean energy alternatives.
Yesterday, Gutteres noted that tackling the climate crisis requires finance.
“We need confidence that the $1.3 trillion agreed at COP29 will be mobilized. And we need the world to get serious in responding to the disasters that we know will keep coming. Adaptation is critical for this region. To save lives. And to make economies resilient.
“And we need developed countries to honour their promises on adaptation finance – and more. And we need meaningful contributions to the new Loss and Damage Fund.
“When the fund was created, the pledges made are equivalent to the new contract for just one baseball player in New York City. Let’s be clear: the Loss and Damage Fund must be a serious thing”, he asserted.
He also said that it was important to seriously put a price on carbon – and there are different ways to achieve that goal.
The third issue he alighted on was unity for sustainable development.
“Globally, the Sustainable Development Goals are starved of adequate finance, as debt servicing soaks-up funds, and international financial institutions remain underpowered.
“Caribbean countries have been at the forefront of the fight for change – pioneering bold and creative solutions. And the Pact for the Future agreed last year, together with the Bridgetown Initiative, now 3.0, marks significant progress – and I thank you all for your support”, he said.
He noted that the Pact commits to advancing a Sustainable Development Goal Stimulus of $500 billion a year and it asks Multilateral Development Banks to consider structural vulnerabilities in access to concessional funds, including through using the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index.
“With this, or any other instrument, it is absolutely essential that middle-income countries that have dramatic vulnerabilities, especially because of climate change, have access to concessional funding. Without it, it is impossible to recover and to build the resilience that is so much highlighted in this congress”, he stated.
Guterres also called for bigger and bolder Multilateral Development Banks, with more capital, more lending capacity and more capacity to also leverage private funding for the kind of investments that are essential to build resilience and to promote sustainable development in the Caribbean.
