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COP26: Global Climate Talks Open to Ever More Daunting Challenges

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  • COP26 aims to secure tougher measures to cut CO2 emissions
  • Conference set to begin with afternoon speeches
  • Weekend G20 summit failed to set positive tone for COP26
  • Thunberg urges leaders: ‘Face up to climate emergency now’

GLASGOW, Nov 1 (Reuters) – World leaders began arriving on Monday at a U.N. conference critical to averting the most disastrous effects of climate change, their challenge made even more daunting by the failure of major industrial nations to agree ambitious new commitments.

The COP26 conference in the Scottish city of Glasgow opens a day after the G20 economies failed to commit to a 2050 target to halt net carbon emissions – a deadline widely cited as necessary to prevent the most extreme global warming.

Instead, their talks in Rome only recognised “the key relevance” of halting net emissions “by or around mid-century”, set no timetable for phasing out coal at home and watered down promises to cut emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas many times more powerful than carbon dioxide.

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg asked her millions of supporters to sign an open letter accusing leaders of betrayal.

“As citizens across the planet, we urge you to face up to the climate emergency,” she tweeted. “Not next year. Not next month. Now.”

Many of those leaders take to the stage in Glasgow on Monday to defend their climate change records and in some cases make new pledges at the start of two weeks of negotiations that conference host Britain is billing as make-or-break.

“Humanity has long since run down the clock on climate change. It’s one minute to midnight and we need to act now,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will tell the opening ceremony, according to advance excerpts of his speech.

“If we don’t get serious about climate change today, it will be too late for our children to do so tomorrow.”

But discord among some of the world’s biggest emitters about how to cut back on coal, oil and gas, and help poorer countries to adapt to global warming, will not make the task any easier.

U.S. President Joe Biden singled out China and Russia, neither of which is sending its leader to Glasgow, for not bringing proposals to the table.

“Russia and … China basically didn’t show up in terms of any commitments to deal with climate change,” Biden, who faces domestic resistance to his climate ambitions, told reporters at the G20.

ABSENTEES

Chinese President Xi Jinping, whose country is by far the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, will address the conference on Monday in a written statement, according to an official schedule.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will also stay away from Glasgow. Two Turkish officials said Britain had failed to meet Ankara’s demands on security arrangements and protocol. read more

Delayed by a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, COP26 aims to keep alive a target of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels – a level scientists say would avoid its most destructive consequences.

To do that, the conference needs to secure more ambitious pledges to reduce emissions, lock in billions in climate-related financing for developing countries, and finish the rules for implementing the 2015 Paris Agreement, signed by nearly 200 countries.

Existing pledges to cut emissions would allow the planet’s average surface temperature to rise 2.7C this century, which the United Nations says would supercharge the destruction that climate change is already causing by intensifying storms, exposing more people to deadly heat and floods, raising sea levels and destroying natural habitats.

“Africa is responsible for only 3% of global emissions, but Africans are suffering the most violent consequences of the climate crisis,” Ugandan activist Evelyn Acham told the Italian newspaper La Stampa.

“They are not responsible for the crisis, but they are still paying the price of colonialism, which exploited Africa’s wealth for centuries,” she said. “We have to share responsibilities fairly.”

Two days of speeches by world leaders starting Monday will be followed by technical negotiations. Any deal may not be struck until close to or even after the event’s Nov. 12 finish date.

Reporting by Elizabeth Piper and Jeff Mason; writing by Mark John and Kevin Liffey; editing by Barbara Lewis

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Mia Mottley’s COP26 Message is Clear: ‘The Issue is About Life and Death for Us’

By Jennifer Duggan
In the battle to slow down climate change, countries like Barbados are on the “front line,” says Prime Minister Mia Mottley. The island is threatened by rising sea levels and extreme weather events like hurricanes that are increasing in intensity and frequency.

But adapting to the impacts of climate change, to build defenses and repair the damage from hurricanes, will cost money that Barbados, with a national debt ratio of 144% of GDP, does not have.

Mottley has made tackling the country’s debt a priority, and she negotiated a debt restructuring for Barbados shortly after taking office in 2018 that included “natural-­disaster clauses” to allow a break in interest repayments in the aftermath of extreme weather events. But the combined impact of those disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the island, whose economy shrank by over 17% in 2020. “You are effectively talking about the potential loss of a decade,” Mottley says.

Emerging countries like Barbados need financial assistance to adapt to and mitigate against climate change. Developed nations pledged 12 years ago to put $100 billion a year toward helping them do it by 2020, but that target has not been met, and Mottley will be among those at COP26 arguing that it is no longer sufficient. It’s not just a question of countries sharing responsibilities, she says, but of ensuring their very existence. “This issue is about life and death for us. It is an issue about the stability of a nation.”

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Caribbean Leaders Begin Arriving for COP26 Meet

Loop- Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne was an early arrival in Glasgow, Scotland for the COP26 Climate Conference.

Earlier today, Browne and the Prime Minister of Tuvalu, Kausea Natano, signed an agreement that will establish a pathway for small nations affected by climate change to take action against large greenhouse gas polluting countries.

“Small Island States’ emission of greenhouse gases is negligible, but they bear the overwhelming burden of its catastrophic effects, including persistent destruction, repeated costs of rebuilding and huge debts to finance resilience. This injustice must end. We insist that those States most responsible for this dire situation respect their legal obligations to stop global warming and to provide compensation to its victims,” Browne said.

Browne is the chairman of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS).

Prime Minister Andrew Holness has held talks with newly elected Bahamian PM Phillip Davis and Guyanese President Dr Mohammed Irfaan Ali.

“As Caribbean countries with similar challenges, COP26 presents a unique opportunity to address these challenges and craft strategies towards advancing the climate agenda,” Holness said in a tweet.

Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley left the island last night for Scotland.

Her first engagement will be tomorrow when she addresses the Opening Ceremony of the World Leaders’ Summit.

The Government Information Service said she will also participate in Action and Solidarity – the Critical Decade, and a World Leaders’ Reception on the same day.

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Antigua and Tuvalu in Pact to Hold Large Nations Accountable for Climate Damage

The Prime Ministers of Antigua and Barbuda and Tuvalu signed a historic accord in Edinburgh, Scotland today that will clear the way for small states to sue major developed nations for the severe damage caused by climate change.

The development comes as world leaders are meeting in Glasgow, Scotland for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26).

The Agreement establishes a Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law that will be tasked with developing and implementing fair and just global environmental norms and practices. 

The commission may also request advisory opinions from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on the legal responsibility of States for carbon emissions, marine pollution, and rising sea levels. 

Only small states, whose leaders have long complained about large greenhouse gas polluting countries not being held responsible for their actions, will be allowed to be part of the commission.

Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, who chairs the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), noted that small nations have become heavily indebted since they are forced to repair and rebuild infrastructure that is continuously damaged during catastrophic events.

“Small Island States’ emission of greenhouse gases is negligible, but they bear the overwhelming burden of its catastrophic effects, including persistent destruction, repeated costs of rebuilding and huge debts to finance resilience. This injustice must end. We insist that those States most responsible for this dire situation respect their legal obligations to stop global warming and to provide compensation to its victims,” he said.

The Prime Minister of Tuvalu, Kausea Natano, said the time has come for action as state are already being negatively impacted by climate change.

“For us, climate justice is a matter of survival.  Rising sea levels, extreme weather events, the decline of marine resources – these threaten our very existence.  We see better than anyone else what is being done to our beautiful planet.  It is time to put words into action, to save Small Island States, and to save the world from impending disaster,” he said.

The legal counsel to the Commission, Professor Payam Akhavan of Massey College, University of Toronto, and Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, said that: “Small Island States are the canary in the coalmine of climate catastrophe. 

Their fate is a warning to all humankind that the disastrous consequences of global warming are happening now, not in a distant future.  The fundamental principle of international law not to cause harm to others has now taken on an unprecedented dimension.  This historic initiative to pursue climate justice should be welcome by all who care about the future of our planet.”

 

 

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SKN Economy Hit Hard by Pandemic-IMF Report

CMC- The International Monetary Fund Executive Board has said in St.Kitts and Nevis the complete halt in cruise ship arrivals and very few stayover tourists since the first quarter of 2020 “compounded the pandemic’s impact on domestic activity.”

In a statement, the lending agency said the pandemic resulted in an estimated annual decline in the gross domestic product (GDP) of 14 percent, and the general government’s first fiscal deficit (4.7 percent of GDP) since 2010, “financed by drawing down sizeable deposit buffers.”

“An expected rebound in tourism sets the stage for a strong recovery from 2022 onward, but risks to the outlook remain significant,” the IMF said.

Following a loss of the 2020–21 winter tourism season and slow resumption of tourism inflows to date, it said staff projects a small further decline in GDP of 1 percent in 2021, followed by 10 percent growth in 2022.

“However, the recovery path could be derailed should the pandemic lead to further sustained disruptions on the anticipated pace of tourism recovery and domestic activity,” the IMF warned.

It said other risks include financial sector uncertainties, natural disasters, and lower-than-expected CBI receipts.

The IMF said its executive directors agreed with the thrust of the staff appraisal, which noted that St. Kitts and Nevis entered the COVID-19 pandemic from a position of fiscal strength, commending the authorities’ “prompt and effective policy response, which has helped contain the pandemic’s economic and health impact.

“Directors agreed that, in the near term, the key policy priorities are containing the pandemic and supporting the economic recovery,” the IMF said. “In particular, they emphasized that reaching herd immunity through vaccination is the chief priority to save lives and livelihoods.”

The IMF directors agreed that fiscal relief measures should be kept in place until the recovery firmly takes root.

They noted that robust levels of public investment would further support economic activity.

Given the small economy’s susceptibility to natural disasters and dependence on tourism and volatile revenues from the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Program, the IMF said its directors concurred that, once the recovery is firmly established, the government should resume saving part of the CBI revenues to rebuild fiscal buffers, “which will also provide additional fiscal space to mitigate contingent and long-term fiscal pressures.”

The IMF said its directors agreed on the need to preserve the stability of the financial system by increasingly focusing on building readiness to exit the temporary support measures.

They recommended reviewing and formalizing crisis management plans, containing risks in the systemic bank, strengthening supervision of non-banks, developing a more robust plan to divest unsold lands, and pursuing reforms to facilitate asset recovery.

While commending the authorities for promoting financial integrity, securing correspondent banking relationships, establishing CBI program safeguards and bolstering the AML/CFT and tax cooperation frameworks, the IMF said the directors called for further efforts in these areas.

It said the directors encouraged structural reforms that raise productivity growth, economic competitiveness and human capital.

In this regard, the IMF said the directors “particularly welcomed the authorities’ agenda to diversify energy sources and channel CBI revenues into other sectors besides tourism and for infrastructure that protects against natural disasters.”

The IMF said St Kitts and Nevis had entered the COVID-19 pandemic from a position of fiscal strength following nearly a decade of budget surpluses.

It said a significant part of the large CBI revenues was “prudently saved, reducing public debt below the regional debt target of 60 per cent of GDP and supporting accumulation of large government deposits.”

“Prompt government action helped contain the pandemic’s public health impact.”

At the onset of the pandemic, it said the St Kitts and Nevis government “swiftly restricted” inbound travel, introduced a month-long national lockdown, and procured protective and medical equipment.

“The reopening of borders at end-October 2020 has been accompanied by strict safety protocols. The response measures effectively mitigated the pandemic’s human cost, with St Kitts and Nevis having had the lowest per capita case count in the Western Hemisphere and no mortalities in 2020.

“But the impact on the economy has been severe,” the IMF lamented.

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Caribbean Leaders Add Their Voices at COP26 with Virtual Tree Planting

Leaders across the Caribbean region have passed a virtual shovel in a tree planting relay, which was done ahead of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow.

The COP26 summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

In Barbados, High Commissioner to Barbados & Eastern Caribbean, Scott Furssedonn-Wood and his daughters joined Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley to plant Sugar Apple and Custard Apple trees at her official residence and passed the shovel in a regional relay.

Furssedonn-Wood in a video posted to @UKinCaribbean said: “This week leaders from across the Caribbean are heading to Glasgow for the COP26 Climate Summit.

To symbolise our hope for the negotiations and for the future of our planet, my daughters and I joined the Prime Minister of Barbados, the Honourable Mia Mottley to plant two trees.

These trees kick off a tree planting relay around the Region, with the virtual shoving passing between our High Commissions and Embassies across the Caribbean, covering over 5,000 miles from island to island and ending in Belize.

With our trees safely in the ground in Barbados, we pass the shovel to our friends and colleagues in Antigua and Barbuda.”

The tree planting relay has featured Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, The Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Belize.

Belize was the 10th penultimate stop of the Caribbean journey.

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Haiti’s PM Condemns Gangs & Kidnappings in Televised Address

In a prerecorded address, Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry has condemned the recent uptick in gang violence and kidnappings in the country, reassuring Haitians that the nation is not running out of fuel, despite severe shortages.

Henry’s speech, aired on Friday, was the first time the prime minister acknowledged these issues in public since the kidnapping of 17 members of a United States-based missionary group on October 16. The 16 Americans, one Canadian and their Haitian driver were abducted amid a spike in gang-related kidnappings.

Haitian gang demands $1m each for kidnapped US missionaries

“If they do not stop their wrongdoing, the law will apply to them,” Henry said in his message. “The only option for bandits and all their sponsors is imprisonment or death if they do not want to change professions.”

The speech comes at a particularly tumultuous time for the small Caribbean island. Henry became prime minister about three months ago, after the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moise. A few weeks later, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, devastating the south of the country.

The leader of the 400 Mawozo gang that kidnapped the missionaries, including five children, has said he would kill them if his demands are not met. Haitian officials have said the gang is seeking $1m per person, but that it was not clear if that included the children, the youngest of whom is eight months old.

Christian Aid Ministries, which had organised a trip to Haiti for the group of missionaries, in a statement published on Thursday said they hoped the hostages would be released soon, despite the worsening political situation in the country.

“Haiti is in a state of anarchy with no active government,” according to the statement. “Gangs are in charge of many areas and [are] controlling the fuel and goods at the seaports.”

Henry’s speech also came days after a widespread strike led schools, businesses and public transport to shut down in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and beyond to protest against the lack of fuel and the country’s worsening economic and security situation. Gangs have been blamed for blocking gas distribution terminals, with at least one gang leader saying he would lift the blockade if Henry stepped down.

The prime minister said ships are waiting to unload fuel and that the country, which shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, would not run out of gas.

He added that he has created a crisis unit with top officials from the finance, justice, police, public works, trade and other departments to find a “quick solution” to the fuel distribution problem.

The shortages have affected hospitals, ambulances, schools, public transport and many other parts of daily life.

“This is really catastrophic,” said Solon Cledion, director of a private school in Port-au-Prince, told The Associated Press news agency. “The day-to-day is difficult … We wonder how long this is going to last.”

Henry acknowledged the dire situation, noting that patients with COVID-19 who depend on respirators are among those who are at risk of dying if fuel is not available. In his speech, he congratulated one man who he said drove through dangerous communities to transport fuel and oxygen to a hospital and saved the lives of 60 patients.

Barbecue, the leader of the G9 and Family gang, says his group is protesting against poverty and for justice in the slaying of President Jovenel Moise [Joseph Odelyn/AP Photo]

The prime minister said he is aware of people’s anger and that his administration is addressing the country’s multiple problems.

“To all those who have legitimate demands, who have declared they are fed up with inflation, poverty and insecurity, I guarantee that their voice is heard by the government,” he said. “Gangs are our enemies. No real solution to the country’s problems will emerge if we do not arm ourselves with the courage to fight and eliminate this scourge.”

Henry added that when he came into office three months ago, he found a country that is “torn, divided, with a state in tatters whose democratic institutions are dysfunctional”.

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Battle of former champion teams: Lodge upstages Unity in # 7 Domino League

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, October 29, 2021 (MMS-SKN) — When two former champion teams of Constituency Number Seven Dr the Hon Timothy Harris Domino League met Thursday evening October 28 at the new Lodge-Ottley’s Community Centre in the tenth segment of play in the 26th edition of the league, the presumed underdog carried the day.

Unity Domino Club and Lodge Domino Club are arguably the most experienced teams, each having been the Constituency Number Seven Domino League champion team at different times in recent years. When they met on Thursday, Unity came with an added advantage over Lodge as it is the runaway points standing leader.

Lodge showed scant respect for their perennial adversaries by opening the game on a high note, at one time leading 6-2. Unity players rallied up and in the process reduced the deficit to a level where Lodge led 12-10. Noting wanting to lose a game that was theirs for the taking, the pair of O’Niel Thomas and Edison Parris slammed the brakes on their opponents and handed them a100-0 points whitewash in the final game, a feat that earned them a bonus game for a 14-10 overall win.

Lodge Domino Club’s McAllister Thomas skilfully moves the dominos as he and Javed Thomas opposite him helped take care of Unity Domino Club 14-10.

 

A similar scenario came into play when the only two teams from Constituency Number Six faced each other. Former champion team, Parsons Domino Club came over with a higher seeding as they held the second position on the points standing table, while Saddlers Domino Club was in the eighth position on the same table.

However, Saddlers turned the tables on their sister team from Number Six and handed Parson a narrow 13-11 beating.

Defending champion team, Tabernacle Domino Club which has not being doing very well also caused a mini-upset as they too were expected to succumb at the hands of Christ Church Domino Club which was at that time in fourth position on the points standing table. Tabernacle ended up beating Christ Church 13-10.

Sylvers Domino Club, the only team captained by a female – Octavia Huggins-Sewell – exhibited little or no mercy when they handsomely stopped Unstoppable Domino Club 13-6.

In other games, Phillips Domino Club beat Ottley’s Domino Club 14-8; Mansion Domino Club beat Guinness Domino Club 13-8; and Molineux Domino Club edged out Small Corner Bar Domino Club 13-10.

Despite the loss, at the end of the tenth segment of play in the 26th edition of Constituency Number Seven Dr the Hon Timothy Harris Domino League, former champion team Unity is still firmly at the top on the points standing table with 48 points. It is followed by their Thursday evening’s tormentors Lodge who have 38 points, Parsons 37 Points, Phillips 36 points, and Christ Church 33 points.

Others, in order, are Molineux 31 points, Mansion 31 points, Saddlers 30* points, Sylvers 30 points, Tabernacle 25* points, Guinness 21 points, Small Corner Bar 19 points, Unstoppable 16 points, and Ottley’s 12 points.

Defending champion team Tabernacle Domino Club and Saddlers Domino Club have one outstanding game which ended up in dispute on Tuesday. The league’s Executive Committee will hold an arbitration meeting on Monday November 1, in an attempt to defuse the impasse.

Constituency Number Seven Dr the Hon Timothy Harris Domino League, which is the longest running such league in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, is sponsored by Prime Minister and Area Parliamentary Representative for St. Christopher Seven, Dr the Hon Timothy Harris.

Eleventh segment of play in this only round of play in the 26th edition of the league plays off on Tuesday November 2 at the new Lodge-Ottley’s Community Centre. Defending champion team Tabernacle will meet bottom on the points standing table, Ottley’s, while current leader on the points standing table Unity with face off with Saddlers.

Other games will be Molineux vs. Christ Church; Parsons vs. Sylvers; Phillips vs. Small Corner Bar; Mansion vs. Lodge; and Guinness vs. Unstoppable.

Battle of Constituency Number Six teams: Saddlers Domino Club ended up beating former champion team, Parsons Domino Club 13-11. Denroy Matthew of Saddlers is seen in action.

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Bermuda Premier: ‘Things Will Get Worse Before Getting Better’

Premier David Burt has warned Bermuda of rising prices, global challenges and the increasing toll of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying: “Things will get worse before they get better.”

Speaking at the opening of the 56th annual Progressive Labour Party (PLP) delegates’ conference on Wednesday night, he said: “Today, we face a new challenge. The United States, our major trading partner, is experiencing rising inflation, which is having a ripple effect right here in Bermuda.

“Global supply chain challenges mean that prices will increase in the supermarkets and in local shops. These rising prices are putting more stress on Bermudian families.”

He added: “In Bermuda, we often hear people say we need to have an honest conversation. Bermuda, let me give you some honesty, our country, like many around the world, coming out of this pandemic is in a very difficult space and there will be demanding times ahead and it is likely that things will get worse before they get better.

“However, the challenges can only defeat us if we choose to face them as individuals rather than as a community and a unified country.”

Burt called on the next generation to “take ownership of the future” by getting involved in the party. He said transformational change could not come from sitting on the sidelines.

“For the change that you want to see happen you must get involved,” he said. “You must get involved in how laws are actually changed in Bermuda. It means that you, like I did, 17 years ago, should get involved in the work by the PLP.

“You can get involved at your local branch level supporting local residents in your constituency, you can get involved in the discussions on government policy so that the decisions for your future reflect the views of future generations. I am calling on the next generations of leaders to get involved and get ready to take ownership of the future of this country.”

Ariana Caines, youth speaker for the delegates’ conference, spoke on the meaning of involvement in the context of our society and what it means for the next generation.

Referencing the momentous rise of youth activist groups in recent times, Caines said.

“How do we encourage a continuation and help promote young people to make a lasting impact?

“We have to listen, give them a seat at the table and let them get to work. We must engage in discourse that will move us forward. Over the last decade … I have seen we have a consistently interested youth. Let’s make sure that we capitalise on this.”

The coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed 100 lives on the island, has left the island’s already struggling economy in tatters, with the national debt approaching US$3 billion.

The PLP has been in power for all but five of the past 23 years after toppling the now-defunct United Bermuda Party in 1998.

It lost the 2012 election to the One Bermuda Alliance, but regained power in a landslide in 2017 and increased its majority to 24 in the 36-seat House of Assembly in a snap election last year.

When he led the PLP to victory in 2017 at the age of 38, Burt became Bermuda’s youngest-ever premier.

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