Caribbean leaders sign climate change declaration

40 world leaders and officials met in the Caribbean on Saturday for high-level climate discussions and French President Francois Hollande called for urgent investment in the region to combat climate change.

The Caribbean Climate Summit was attended by 13 regional leaders as well as Cuba’s Environment Minister, as well as experts and scientists to address topics including renewable energy, finance, and waste & water management in the Caribbean.

Hollande chaired the meeting in Martinique and, in the build up the crucial COP21 UN Climate Change Conference in Paris later this year, he stated that a planned international green fund could assist the vulnerable, tourism-dependent region mitigate the effects of climate change.

The COP21 meeting is expected to result in a global climate deal being signed by all UN member states to limit greenhouse gas emissions and unlock climate financing for developing countries.

Hollande said the Paris conference would highlight the importance of the U.N. Green Climate Fund, which has so far struggled to raise the funds that had been hoped for.

Hollande said: "Thanks to this fund, we will be able to find solutions to the problem of global warming…This is a human issue that has displaced millions of people and caused the disappearance of species every year."

The French President said climate change is an urgent issue that costs $600 million a year to the Caribbean region alone, and he pledged to support a local natural disaster fund.

Hollande conducted a five-day tour through the French Caribbean visiting St. Barts and St. Martin, Guadeloupe before heading to Cuba and Haiti.

Pascal Saffache, a university professor in Martinique, said Hollande's presence would help to raise awareness of climate change in a region vulnerable to hurricanes, rising sea levels and coastal erosion.

"The Caribbean is made up of tiny countries that people generally don't understand. The words from a president carry weight" Saffache said.

Caribbean heads of state signed a ‘Declaration of Fort de France’ climate document that will result in a unified voice on climate related issues in the region.

The leaders said that despite their small sizes and negligible contribution to global levels of carbon emissions, they are among the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

The landmark summit gave regional leaders an opportunity to state a joint policy position ahead of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP21 Paris meeting to be held in November and December.

Dominican Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, chairman of the 9-member Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), said the summit gave the region an opportunity to ensure that concerns of the Caribbean receive due prominence in the Paris negotiations.

Skerrit said: “We remain convinced that the global goal of limiting average temperature increase to no more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels is inadequate for protecting fragile ecosystems in SIDS from the adverse impacts of climate change, and that a target rate lower than 1.5°C would be more appropriate. We are painfully aware that in the Caribbean, some ecosystems are already approaching the limits of their adaptive capacities, presenting major challenges for the livelihoods of the people. We therefore reiterate the call for urgent and ambitious action by developed country parties in particular, geared toward achieving this target.”

Perry Christie, Prime Minister of the Bahamas and Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), said: “Any Paris outcome must include; clarity on ambitious targets for developed countries, clarity on the adaptation measures and resources required to facilitate and enhance the sustainable development plans and programmes in SIDS and clarity on measures and mechanisms to address the development challenges associated with climate change, sea level rise and loss and damage for small islands and low-lying coastal developing states,” he said. Meanwhile, President Hollande urged “rich countries to help poor countries fight global warming,” adding that “if there is nothing in terms of finance for countries that are the most vulnerable and the poorest, they won’t follow you.”