The Tribune

PEOPLE have been talking about the upcoming climate summit for so long that it is hard to believe it is now really upon us. Under the presidency of the UK, the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference will take place in Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city, from 31 October to 12 November.

Known as COP26 – the latest in the series termed “Conference of the Parties” – it is said to be the most important climate meeting with the attendance of world leaders since the landmark Paris Agreement signed at COP21 in 2015.

As such, it is being billed as a make-or-break moment in the fight against global warming, not least because countries will be asked to provide an update on what they agreed to in Paris and make new commitments about reducing levels of carbon emissions. It is generally accepted that climate change is all too real. But scientists are saying that much of it is caused by human influence and, to the extent that it is man-made, it can be limited if there is a will to do so.

With the conference less than a fortnight away, COP26 has been in the headlines recently because of uncertainty about attendance. Even The Queen was overheard last week – unintentionally through a microphone mistakenly left on - saying she still had “no idea” who was coming. Moreover, as an indicator of her interest in the environment and climate change and her frustration at the lack of action, she was also recorded as saying about political leaders that “it’s really irritating when they talk, but they don’t do.”

It was confirmed only last week that President Biden will attend. But, at the time of writing, it looks as though Chinese leader Xi Jinping will not be there and President Putin’s attendance has not been confirmed. Xi’s absence could be significant given that China is reportedly responsible for nearly 30 per cent of global carbon emissions, and, unless it commits to new action, the prospect of keeping global warming to the 1.5 degree limit could be scuppered.

The other development which has hit the news is a BBC interview with Prince William some days ago in which he commented that the world’s mega wealthy and top minds should be “trying to repair this planet, not trying to find the next place to go and live” and that it is “crucial to be focusing on this planet rather than giving up and heading out to space to try and think of solutions for the future”.

This was clearly a dig at the so-called space race by billionaires like Englishman Richard Branson and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos but, presumably, it was also directed at the 90-year-old William Shatner – of Star Trek fame playing Captain Kirk – who last week briefly travelled into space 62 miles above the surface of the Earth.

Shatner is quoted as saying that space travel could lead to discovery of ways to deal with global warming and “it was a baby step towards getting industry up there so that all those polluting industries…… would not impact the planet’s ecosystem”.

Many will find such an idea barely plausible and anyway well down the track  – and I, for one, believe Prince William is right. Surely all available resources should be used now in reducing the damaging effects of climate change while space tourism is put on the back burner.

As for the Caribbean and Small Island Developing States, the principal issue in relation to global warming is, of course, rising sea levels caused primarily by added water from melting ice sheets and glaciers together with, according to the scientists, expansion of sea water as it warms. These experts say that even the aim of restricting levels to 1.5 degrees of warming will have a severe impact on low lying areas. So COP26 is a critical opportunity for the international community to recognise the gravity of this situation and, in particular, to provide Caribbean countries with access to new financing in order to build protective infrastructure.

Biden’s attendance has been announced at relatively short notice. With it came a US statement that the Glasgow summit will be “a pivotal moment on the road towards a more secure, prosperous and sustainable future for our planet”. His trip to Europe will include the G20 summit in Rome at the end of the month and an audience with the Pope. Some say it is remarkable that he is making the trip at all considering his low approval rating and all the mounting problems in the US, but his presence should help Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s efforts to secure significant commitments from other countries to reduce carbon emissions.

According to the UN, the world’s response to a changing climate and global warming requires comprehensive and integrated strategies and action addressing social and economic problems as well as environmental ones. UN Member States have overwhelmingly accepted the importance of tackling global warming first as a priority, and all will surely hope COP26 will live up to its billing and produce meaningful results – as The Queen has said, not just fine words but action!

Bahamian winner of environment prize

A month ago in this column, I wrote about Coral Vita, a company in Grand Bahama which, with its land-based coral farms, is a model for large-scale reef restoration. It had been chosen as one of the first-ever 15 finalists for the celebrated Earthshot Prize in the category of “Revive our Oceans”.

The prize was launched by Prince William and The Royal Foundation in 2020 to encourage innovative solutions to the world’s greatest environmental challenges. It has already become the most prestigious global environment prize in history, and it aims to unleash an unprecedented wave of innovation and leadership to tackle the threats posed by climate change to the world’s oceans, air and land.

So, imagine the joy and satisfaction of learning that, at a star-studded Awards ceremony at London’s Alexandra Palace on Sunday, Coral Vita was named one of the five winners, each of whom was judged to be the best in an individual category and to have the greatest impact on the biggest environmental challenges facing the planet.

Each will receive some $1.4m prize money and will benefit from a global network of professional and technical support to scale their innovative technology.

In the words of Prince William: “Our five inspirational winners show that everyone has a role to play in the global effort to repair our planet. We need businesses, leaders, innovators and communities to take action. And, ultimately, we need all of us to demand that the solutions get the support they need. Because the success of our Winners is our collective, global Earthshot.”

According to the official wording, Coral Vita’s award was for its innovative approach to coral farming by growing coral on land and then replanting it in the ocean where it can grow 50 times faster than using traditional methods and that improves coral resilience to the impact of climate change. Its goal is said to be to establish a global network of coral farms to grow a billion corals annually.

Interestingly, Coral Vita’s founder, Sam Teicher, is quoted as saying that “winning the Earthshot Prize is a win for the ocean and jumpstarts scaling our impact from The Bahamas around the world. We ultimately envision massive coral farms in every nation with reefs, working side-by-side with communities, scientists, students, NGOs, governments and the private sector”.

The prize will enable Coral Vita to accelerate its establishment of a global network of coral farms which will include sharing the latest technology as well as developing funding models to make coral restoration more financially viable.

What terrific news all this is, and no doubt it will soon be given wide publicity. Meanwhile, Coral Vita surely deserves everybody’s congratulations for its splendid achievement of winning the illustrious first-ever Earthshot Prize.

Loss of a fine public servant

The terrible news at the end of last week of the murder of a Member of Parliament in Britain has sent shock waves across the country. On Friday, Sir David Amess, the Conservative Party member for Southend in the east of England, was stabbed to death during his fortnightly surgery for his constituents. The 25-year-old suspected killer arrested at the scene has been identified as a British citizen of Somali heritage and is being detained under the UK’s 2020 Terrorism Act. This appalling incident comes after another MP was shot and stabbed to death 5 years ago and a police officer was fatally stabbed outside Parliament in 2017.

The 69-year-old Sir David has been described as a kind, genial, gentle, much-loved and respected man who was an outstanding constituency MP. Rather than aspiring to ministerial office, he preferred to look after the interests of those who elected him and did so successfully and continuously for thirty-eight years after being first elected to Parliament in 1983.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has spoken movingly about him saying that “our hearts are full of shock and sadness”. The nation is united in grief and sympathy at this hideous and senseless killing which many regard as a blow to the very core of Britain as a liberal democracy.

The sad fact is, however, that in an open and free society MPs and other prominent people in public life are vulnerable to attack from those who for one reason or another are disaffected or aggrieved or are mentally disturbed. They will always be potential targets for those intent on evil and who do not fear the consequences. This horrific incident has therefore ignited fresh concerns over the protection of parliamentarians and a review of their security arrangements has already been launched.

The direct relationship between MPs and their constituents is a cornerstone of democracy so a balance has to be struck between security and the continuing need for face-to-face meetings. They cannot stay hidden away from the public when in their constituencies because the very essence of being an MP is to get out and about, talk to a cross section of people and attend local public events. MPs need to make themselves available to those they represent. But this cannot work if they are in fear of their lives.

Whatever new security arrangements may be imposed in the aftermath of such horror, there is already controversy about how toxic the political culture and atmosphere in the country has become, fed by violent rhetoric and intemperate language and where intimidation is now treated as a legitimate tactic. But there should be no place for this instead of civility and respect for those who happen to have a different political philosophy. In the words of the Speaker of the House of Commons, the quality of political discourse must change. But social media, which is uncensored and unregulated, is also partly to blame as a breeding ground for the vilification of others, including hate, abuse, half-truths and extremism – and those concerned get away with it because they can remain anonymous.

It seems to me that here in The Bahamas, where political exchanges are robust though less confrontational, the potential threat to MPs in a smaller society where people know one another is altogether different. But democracy can be a fragile political system and always needs to be protected. Despite its flaws, it remains the best form of government available – most importantly, freedom of expression and the right to challenge authority under the protection of the rule of law.