Grenada will host the Second Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) High-Level Dialogue on Climate change this week, September 28 – 29, 2023 at Grenada Radisson Beach Resort.
13 High-level Delegates including Heads of Government of CARICOM will attend this week’s meeting.
Grenada’s Former Minister for Climate Resilience and The Environment Simon Stiell who now serves as the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) Secretariat based in Bonn Germany, is also expected to attend the High-level meeting.
The Caribbean SIDS are some of the most vulnerable countries to climate change impacts which will become critical if no appropriate action is taken. Global warming, sea level rise, increased intensity and frequency of tropical cyclones, storm surges and droughts, as well as changing precipitation patterns, and coral bleaching are critical threats to SIDS. For example, among the 29 Caribbean SIDS, 22 were affected by at least one Category 4 or 5 TC in 2017 ((PCC), with an estimated cost of US$93 billion (ECLAC).
This week’s High-level meeting will focus on six (6) thematic areas.
Theme 1 – Strengthening resilience and achieving prosperity in the face of increasing climate change impacts: boosting adaptation and addressing loss and damage.
Theme 2– Financing the transition to Renewable Energy in the Caribbean: tapping into the potential of wind, solar, geothermal and hydroelectricity.
Theme 3 – Transforming international financial architecture, enabling access to blue and green finance, and regional collaboration on carbon pricing mechanisms.
Theme 4 – Impacts on and opportunities in biological systems – looking at oceans and forests and land in the Caribbean.
Theme 5 – Accelerating e-mobility: lowering costs, reducing emissions, and building a reliable transportation system through electrification.
Theme 6 – Building stronger national systems for climate transparency: accessing data and information to track progress, increase international accountability, and attract support.
The welcome remarks will be delivered by Minister for Climate Resilience, the Environment and Renewable Energy, Hon. Kerryne James.
The keynote address will be presented by Prime Minister, The Hon. Dickon Mitchell.
Grenada will use this opportunity to showcase ongoing climate projects in the areas of water management, renewable energy, and climate smart infrastructure. The conference will conclude with an outcome document that will be circulated on October 6, 2023.
The Government Information Service will broadcast the Opening Ceremony live from 8:30 am on Thursday 28 September on GIS Channel 22, its Facebook page, and YouTube Channel.
