Caribbean hoping demands will be met at climate change conference

During the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Trinidad and Tobago at the end of last month, Caribbean leaders and their counterparts in other Commonwealth countries agreed on a united front to try to seal a firm deal on climate change.(Photo: Gre

COPENHAGEN, Demark, December 7, 2009 – As the highly anticipated global climate change conference begins in Copenhagen today, the Caribbean will be seeking limits on temperature rises and carbon emissions from developed countries which they say are most responsible for causing global warming.

They will be hoping for a legally binding agreement coming out of the 11-day meeting in the Denmark capital.

Ahead of the conference, the leaders met to shore up their position. During the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Trinidad and Tobago at the end of last month, Caribbean leaders and their counterparts in other Commonwealth countries agreed on a united front to try to seal a firm deal on climate change.

The resolution reached during the meeting, ‘The Port of Spain Climate Change Consensus; Commonwealth Declaration, 2009’, highlighted the need for "an ambitious mitigation outcome at Copenhagen to reduce the risks of dangerous climate change without compromising the legitimate development aspirations of developing countries". 

"We stress our common conviction that urgent and substantial action to reduce global emissions is needed and have a range of views as to whether average global temperature increase should be constrained to below 1.5 degrees or to no more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels," the document said, adding that an internationally legally binding agreement in Copenhagen is essential. 

"We agree that an equitable governance structure to manage the financial and technological support must be put in place.  We agree that a future governance structure should provide for states to monitor and comply with arrangements entered under a new Copenhagen agreement.”

Meantime, Grenada’s Prime Minister Tillman Thomas says he will also be using the conference to seek support for local projects.

Thomas, who will also be leading the delegation of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), said Grenada will be looking for help for the protection of the island’s coastline, reforestation and the preservation of Grand Anse Beach.