The Tribune

By Fay Simmons

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

The Prime Minister yesterday called for climate change solutions to account for the vast costs imposed on The Bahamas and other small island states in trying to rebuild from catastrophic hurricanes.

Philip Davis KC, speaking at the Organisation for American States (OAS) sustainable development ministerial conference, said: “Those who have faced these challenges know how expensive recovery can be. As much as half of my nation’s national debt can be attributed to the impact of climate change.

“No other goal takes priority over supporting our people and getting them back on their feet after these destructive and traumatising disasters. Any discussion of sustainable development must be had in the context of our climate reality. And any solutions we advance must take the financial reality of preparation and recovery from extreme climate events into account.”

Over the past few days, the Prime Minister has met with regional leaders at the Climate Financing of the Americas conference, where he called for reforms in climate change-related financing. He yesterday urged that such funding be used to improve infrastructure in climate-vulnerable countries and to help them meet their sustainable development goals.

“Equipping us with the finances to make our coastlines, infrastructure and economies more climate-resilient gives us room to tackle other developmental challenges,” Mr Davis argued.

“As new innovations and opportunities emerge, there is a clear intersection where investing in climate resilience is the answer to making progress on a range of our most pressing development goals, such as renewable energy, food and water security, and protecting and empowering our most vulnerable populations.”

The Prime Minister called for the strengthening of relationships between countries in the Caribbean so as to maintain a unified position at international climate change conferences, and added that the OAS must do more to support regional climate resilience efforts to reman relevant to small island states.

He said: “We must strengthen hemispheric ties, provide more support for member states, and agree on united action to advocate for change on the world stage, especially in regard to climate change. I now reiterate, as I did back in January, if the OAS is to maintain its relevance for the small island and low-lying coastal developing states among its membership, it must do more to support climate action across the Americas.”

Mr Davis added that the OAS should establish a hub for climate financing to support member states in their sustainability efforts. He said: “The people of our region are strong and resilient, but we will need more support to overcome the formidable climate challenges that lay before us.

“We welcome the proposal for the OAS to provide capacity building and greater support to member states, especially smaller countries, to access climate finance through establishing a Hub for Climate Finance.

“And we welcome these new mandates for climate action within the OAS and wider inter-American system, and are pleased that we will be adopting them at this meeting here in The Bahamas – one of the vulnerable nations at ground zero taking progressive action in the fight against climate change.”

Mr Davis added that small island states are currently facing a climate crisis, and that we must ‘act with a sense of urgency” to mitigate the effects.

He said: “Like the civilisation of Atlantis, we have ignored the many warning signs of destruction in the name of industrialisation and modernisation. If we are serious about changing our fate, we must now act with a sense of urgency.

“We must garner the political will to embrace the necessary changes to secure our mutual survival, and commit to action to ward off the worst effects of the climate crisis. Unlike past generations, we do not have the luxury of deliberating any further without taking decisive action.”