The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Prime Minister yesterday renewed his demand for the groups that have frequently blacklisted The Bahamas to “join forces with the United Nations” and develop a global tax treaty fair to all countries.

Philip Davis KC, addressing the fourth global conference on small island developing states (SIDS), called on the likes of the European Union (EU) and Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) to be part of a global initiative rather than continuing to arbitrarily impose their own rules on nations such as The Bahamas and undermine their economies.

Recalling how the EU’s recent tax blacklisting threatened The Bahamas’ access to reinsurance markets, and to drive the price of catastrophe insurance coverage beyond the reach of many Bahamian businesses and households, he argued: “Another significant challenge we face as small island nations pertains to the financial systems that govern our recovery efforts.

“Recently, we have seen how blacklisting in international finance disproportionately affects our nations, particularly when it comes to insurance claims in the aftermath of disasters. Such punitive measures, often imposed without adequate representation or input from SIDS, only exacerbate our vulnerabilities and hinder our recovery processes.

“This is not just a matter of financial policy but of justice and equity. Therefore, I call upon the OECD and the EU to join forces with the United Nations to formulate a global tax treaty that truly represents the interests of all nations, particularly those of us who are often left out of the conversation,” Mr Davis continued.

“This treaty should aim to provide a voice for SIDS, ensuring that our unique challenges and perspectives are acknowledged and addressed in global financial regulations. The OECD cannot give with one hand and take back with the other. True partnership requires consistent and fair support.

“Furthermore, the unfair financial practices imposed on Small Island Developing States by global institutions can be likened to a knee on our necks, restricting our growth and suffocating our recovery efforts. These practices are not merely bureaucratic hurdles; they are existential threats that impede our ability to breathe freely in the wake of disasters.

“Again I call on behalf of all SIDS to ‘take your knees off our necks’. We seek not just survival but the opportunity to thrive without these oppressive constraints.” The Prime Minister argued that nations such as The Bahamas must drive the fight against climate change themselves rather than waiting for support from developed nations that have been the major contributors to the problem.

“It will take a serious reckoning with the fact that the major polluters have reaped economic benefits while disproportionately offloading environmental costs on to vulnerable nations like ours,” Mr Davis argued.

“Accountability mechanisms will also be key in operationalising the ‘Loss and Damage Fund’ established at COP 28. We have secured less than 1 percent of the estimated $400bn per year needed to assist the most severely impacted societies. It is more important than ever that we work together to operationalise this fund. No SID can do it alone.

“We must unite, because unity will be the key in unlocking concessional finance from the very creators of this most dire emergency. Climate and debt are twin crises, which we in the Caribbean know all too well. My nation has incurred billions in debt due to recovery efforts from climate-driven disasters and billions more are needed to meet climate change targets,” he added.

“We cannot, and should not, take this tremendous burden on alone while those who created this problem do the bare minimum to take accountability for the impact they have had on our nations.” His comments follow those of Ryan Pinder KC, the attorney general, who last week said of countries that fail to live up to their responsibilities: “Climate justice will come to them.”

Speaking at the Forum for Impact summit, he added that last week’s ruling by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, which found countries have a duty to protect the oceans from climate change impacts, provides a foundation for the case where the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is being asked to determine if countries are legally bound to protect the Earth’s climate.

“This is where you force real impact and change in the climate crisis, preserving our future, reserving the future of blue economies the world over,” Mr Pinder said. “To make an impact, countries like The Bahamas must be forceful. To ensure sustainability of our ‘Blue Economy’ we must be felt and felt where it hurts most.

“We believe climate justice is what is required to have immediate change in our climate crisis, a climate crisis that jeopardises our human rights and our inherent ability to survive. The ‘Blue Economy’, and the ability to leverage it, requires attention to the climate crisis. They are fundamentally interrelated.

“The Bahamas offers unmatched opportunities in the ‘Blue Economy’, we also are the most vulnerable to the climate crisis. Collectively we must make an Impact against climate crisis to experience the impact from the ‘Blue Economy’.”