The Tribune

CLIMATE change is again in the spotlight – with Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis giving a speech during the Climate Week event held in New York.

Our nation’s leader took the podium to point out the speed of global warming – as the world has seen an increase of 1.5C across an entire year.

He talked of nations recognising the urgency of the crisis, and setting targets to reduce emissions.

In this column, we have noted the repeated occasions when Bahamian leaders have rung the bell and warned of the dangers we face.

In 2009, Hubert Ingraham warned the UN Convention on Climate Change that climate change “is a serious threat to our economic viability, our social development and our territorial integrity”.

In 2015, Perry Christie warned the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change in Paris of an “existential threat to the survival of a number of small island developing states”.

Dr Hubert Minnis asked the United Nations General Assembly in 2019: “When one storm can obliterate an island-state or a number of states in one hurricane season: how will we survive, how can we develop, how will we continue to exist?”

And Mr Davis has previously called for action on climate change, warning it is “the greatest existential threat that the Bahamas has ever faced”.

In this paper, we have previously published maps showing the areas of our islands at risk of flooding as the waters rise.

This time, rather than just warning again about what is coming – that repeated call of doom ahead has done little to stop the pace of warming, after all – Mr Davis has been talking about action that can be taken.

He talks of holding fossil fuel companies accountable – although we do not seem to be doing that ourselves here at home.

He talks of moving towards solar power and mentions the goal of reducing greenhouse gases by 30 percent and transitioning to 30 percent renewable energy by 2030. That is just six years away now, and we have plenty of progress still to make to reach that target, let alone whether the current administration will be elected again to see that through. Continuity is something we have not been terribly good at between governments.

Then there are things Mr Davis raises that we have not been told much about here at home – he trumpets that we are pioneering Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion with pilots across nine islands. Last year, we reported that the government was negotiating for a $9m grant so BPL could develop an ocean thermal initiative, but there has been little word since. A local update would be useful to go with the international acclaim.

Then there is the talk of protecting our seagrass meadows – which Attorney General Ryan Pinder previously said was key to Bahamian plans for carbon credits.

As a side note, Mr Davis also reports on the lack of sightings of certain birds, saying the Bahama nuthatch has not been seen on Grand Bahama since Hurricane Matthew in 2016 – despite The Tribune reporting in 2018 that a team from the University of East Anglia had noted six such sightings during a three-month survey, including of a pair of birds. The situation regarding the species was still described as “dire”, however, so the broader point remains.

What we could still do with is a better connection between the alarm sounded internationally and the action being carried out locally.

Are we on target for the 30 by 30 pledge? What does the 1.5C rise mean directly for us? And so on. These are questions that we raise, but answers seem slower to come.

Mr Davis’ speech was headlined “It’s time to move past business as usual” – let’s hear what that means here at home.