Stronger push needed for greenhouse gas emission cuts
WITH THE special report on global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius revealing that the world at that temperature is one that is in much better shape than at two degrees, some Caribbean stakeholders are insisting on the need for a renewed push for steep greenhouse gas (GHG) emission cuts, particularly from developed countries.
For James Fletcher – former minister of sustainable development in Saint Lucia, and one who has been at the forefront of negotiations at the international climate talks – Caribbean small island developing states (SIDS) have, in recent times, been too focused on tapping into climate finance.
“We have shifted the focus too much to the issue of climate finance. It is easy to understand why some of our heads of government have strengthened the call for more access to climate finance in the aftermath of the devastating 2017 Atlantic hurricane season. But climate finance is not the only thing for which we should be lobbying,” he said.
“If we do not succeed in getting industrialised countries to drastically reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, and consequently bend that global temperature curve sharply downward, the climate finance that we access will probably just allow us to keep our heads afloat, literally and figuratively, from an onslaught of alarming sea level rise; ocean acidification, more intense and prolonged droughts; more frequent flooding; higher incidence of vectorborne diseases; deadly heat waves; suffocating and economically and ecologically damaging forest and bush fires; and more severe hurricanes,” predicted Fletcher, now a consultant on sustainable development issues, including climate change and renewable energy, for SIDS.