Grenada joins regional call at UN for action on climate change

“The impacts of climate change are already being felt the world over,” said Clarice Modeste-Curwen, warning that without a successful legally binding agreement in Paris, “we will see climate change continue unabated.”

She went on to note that the Assembly has already recognized the “unique vulnerabilities” of small island developing States (SIDS) regarding climate change, and urged the Security Council to “continue to give greater consideration to [their] special circumstances…in relation to both traditional and non-traditional security concerns.”

Addressing the need for a climate change framework, she calleed for an “immediate consensus” on the issue, particularly with regard to financing.

Turning her attention to the recent resumption of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba, Modeste-Curwen said “Grenada applauds the progress made in the recent rapprochement” between the two countries.

“Grenada sees this peaceful resolution, through dialogue, as an example to be emulated between and among all States where violence, conflicts, and disputes prevail,” she continued.

She said, “However, Grenada joins in the call for the total lifting of the commercial and financial embargo imposed on the sister island of Cuba.”

In his remarks, the Prime Minister of Barbados, Freundel J. Stuart, stressed the importance of global cooperation to end climate change.

“This is an existential issue for all countries, but in particular for those like mine that are small island developing States,” he said. “Our countries stand on the edge of a yawning abyss opened up by climate change.”

Stuart also noted that Barbados, along with all the countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), urged all those taking part in the upcoming climate change conference in Paris to “commit to take individual and collective action to curb greenhouse gas emissions in line with our ambitious goal to hold global average temperature increase to well below 1.5 degrees Centigrade above pre-industrial levels.”

Noting the devastating effects of Tropical Storm Erika on the Caribbean nation of Dominica, Stuart also took the opportunity to express his region’s “unwavering solidarity with and commitment to our brothers and sisters in Dominica and call on the international community to continue to help [the country] in its hour of need.”

Also addressing the Assembly, the Prime Minister of Saint Kits and Nevis, Timothy Harris, among others from the region, noted the importance of the climate change and the development of renewable energy sources.

“This is an existential issue for all countries, but in particular for those like mine that are small island developing States,” he said. “Our countries stand on the edge of a yawning abyss opened up by climate change.”

Stuart also noted that Barbados, along with all the countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), urged all those taking part in the upcoming climate change conference in Paris to “commit to take individual and collective action to curb greenhouse gas emissions in line with our ambitious goal to hold global average temperature increase to well below 1.5 degrees Centigrade above pre-industrial levels.”

Noting the devastating effects of Tropical Storm Erika on the Caribbean nation of Dominica, Stuart also took the opportunity to express his region’s “unwavering solidarity with and commitment to our brothers and sisters in Dominica and call on the international community to continue to help [the country] in its hour of need.”

Also addressing the Assembly, the Prime Minister of Saint Kits and Nevis, Timothy Harris, among others from the region, noted the importance of the climate change and the development of renewable energy sources.

“This is an existential issue for all countries, but in particular for those like mine that are small island developing States,” he said. “Our countries stand on the edge of a yawning abyss opened up by climate change.”

Stuart also noted that Barbados, along with all the countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), urged all those taking part in the upcoming climate change conference in Paris to “commit to take individual and collective action to curb greenhouse gas emissions in line with our ambitious goal to hold global average temperature increase to well below 1.5 degrees Centigrade above pre-industrial levels.”

Noting the devastating effects of Tropical Storm Erika on the Caribbean nation of Dominica, Stuart also took the opportunity to express his region’s “unwavering solidarity with and commitment to our brothers and sisters in Dominica and call on the international community to continue to help [the country] in its hour of need.”

Also addressing the Assembly, the Prime Minister of Saint Kits and Nevis, Timothy Harris, among others from the region, noted the importance of the climate change and the development of renewable energy sources.

UN Photo/Cia Pak