This week in Georgetown marks a milestone in our coordinated regional response to the challenges in advancing sustainable development. Our meetings are critical in ensuring representation and voice in many significant global processes, which will bolster the sustainable resilience of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states.
We are executing a five-day programme this week, aimed at first of all:
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- Strengthening our regional coherence ahead of critical global engagements, including the 31st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP17);
- We are also initialising the development of the CARICOM Climate Finance Action Plan (2026–2030), to ensure we are no longer sidelined in the discussions on global climate funds;
- Operationalising the Technical and Scientific Cooperation Centre (TSC) under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
By Dr Carla Barnett
CARICOM is making significant strides in developing our regional public goods by advancing the CARICOM Ocean Policy, and we are now looking to bolster our contribution to the sustainable development of the “blue” economy. This draft CARICOM Ocean Policy harmonises our efforts in fisheries, green shipping, and marine conservation, ensuring that our most abundant resource is used sustainably for generations to come.
Our progress on all these fronts is buttressed by unwavering partnerships. In this regard, I express my gratitude to the Government of Guyana for hosting this series of meetings; gratitude as well to our Partners: the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC), the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (UK FCDO), and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) – with whom we are activating six environment and energy projects; and to all the other executing and implementing partners for various projects and committees.
We are also meeting at a time of rapid and ongoing global change. As our Region works to advance resilient and sustainable development, the global arena is experiencing increasing instability. There is a troubling weakening of multilateralism and international norms – principles which have so far provided guardrails for our CARICOM countries in advancing sustainable development.
Despite these headwinds, the Caribbean Community remains proactive. Our region has moved from the periphery to the very center of global environmental governance. In this regard, I am delighted to formally congratulate the Honourable Matthew Samuda of Jamaica on his election as President of the Eighth United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-8). My warmest congratulations also to the Honourable Dr Joyelle Clarke of St Kitts and Nevis on her election as vice president of UNEA-8.
It is unprecedented that two CARICOM member states serve in leadership positions of this body at the same time. These appointments are a signal of international confidence in Caribbean leadership. With two CARICOM member states at the helm, we are uniquely positioned to ensure that the triple planetary crisis – climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution – are addressed through the lens of the lived experience of Small Island and Low-lying Coastal Developing States (SIDS).
As we look toward COP31, the complex climate landscape defined by prolonged vacillations about finance continues. This inertia puts CARICOM member states at a severe disadvantage and compels us to take action in our best interest. This two-day engagement, this COTED, will need to articulate a CARICOM Climate Finance Action Plan (2026–2030) that seeks to ensure that global promises of support are translated into transparent, accessible funding to support resilience.
Simultaneously, we are at a critical juncture in the Global Plastics Treaty negotiations. With 8 billion tons of plastic waste already choking our ecosystems, the Caribbean is leading the call for a treaty that addresses the full lifecycle of plastics. Our regional unified voice will be essential to ensuring that global mandates match our national ambitions for plastic-free oceans.
Our stewardship extends deeply into the protection of life on land and at sea. As we prepare for the UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP17) in Armenia later this year, we will have critical discussions on substantial challenges in securing support to update National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans, and towards preparing the Seventh National Reports to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. It will be important to channel these and other challenges and priorities into a coordinated CARICOM message that our ministers can communicate at the Conference of the Parties.
Distinguished delegates, the Secretariat has heard your call to integrate our approaches to addressing oceans, climate and biodiversity. This week, we have brought our partners together with the expectation that this will be a catalyst for cooperation towards our goal of a thriving Caribbean environment. We know this is not an easy task. Integrating issues means navigating and combining partnerships and processes. Mandates do overlap. Our collective dedication has brought us together today, ready to make meaningful progress for our region and its future. I am heartened by how many of our ministers and International Development Partners made the journey to Georgetown for this in-person meeting. This augurs well for our CARICOM vision, ambition and collaboration.
Let us, therefore, use this opportunity to consolidate our joint priorities and send a clear signal to the world. CARICOM is not just a participant in global environmental governance, but leaders with strong, relevant voices that will continue to advance the architecture of global solutions.
