St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew delivered a compelling speech on Tuesday at the United Nations meeting on Resource Mobilisation for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) which formed part of the 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4) being held in Antigua and Barbuda.
In his address, Prime Minister Dr. Drew underscored the ongoing challenges that Small Island Developing States face due to climate change and emphasised the robust mitigation strategies necessary to combat the existential threat the phenomenon poses.
“We cannot fund our way out of climate change, however, finance is critically important. As much as we wish to fund, I want to make it clear that if we don’t stop or halt significantly, the acceleration to go above [a 1.5 degree global temperature rise], the financing that we are speaking of here will never be enough, and so, I wish to advocate and say clearly that that still has to be the number one goal,” said the prime minister.
Dr. Drew also noted the significant impact that climate change has already had on St. Kitts and Nevis.
“In my country, we used to be a water abundant country, but now we are a water-scarce country. We cannot supply our people with 24/7 water anymore and this is as a result of climate change on multiple fronts; the decrease in rainfall, the increase in temperature, and saltwater intrusion as a result of sea level rises,” said Dr. Drew.
“To deal with that, we have to now employ desalination plants to produce potable water that is extremely vital for survival. That alone is costing us millions of dollars just to give our people water and to produce that water comes at a very high cost because we see the increase in fossil fuels.”
The prime minister also pointed to the financial burden placed on island nations as they move to adapt and become resilient against climate change.
“It is critically important that the finance and mechanisms to unlock the finance, that those mechanisms deal with the present situation, otherwise I can say clearly that if two hurricanes hit the Caribbean this year and multiple islands are hit, we will suddenly go from talking about adaptation and resilience to recovery, which in itself, would be a burden for any country within the Caribbean,” he said.
“We are seeing a more active season this year with stronger hurricanes. So, while we are discussing and going around, I want to say that the urgency in the release of the funding through whatever mechanisms [must] be accelerated for SIDS to be able to adapt, be resilient.
Be the first to comment on "Prime Minister Drew urges UN gathering to mobilise resources for SIDS to fight climate change"