Demands Made for Immediate Science Based Climate Action at the Abu Dhabi Climate Meeting

On 30^th June and 1^st July 2019 in Abu Dhabi, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the United Arab Emirates, through the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, hosted the Abu Dhabi Climate Meeting as one of the global milestones for the UN Climate Action Summit, which will be held in New York on 23 September 2019.

The Secretary General – calling climate change the “defining issue of our time” and an “existential crisis”, is convening both events to build political momentum for the level of transformative ambition required by the Paris Agreement. The meeting is structured to evaluate and strengthen the initiatives, commitments, and achievements that will be that will be announced at the Summit in New York, as well as to discuss key and emerging political barriers and opportunities for global climate action.

Participants include representatives from both the public and private sectors at international, national, and local levels, with a strong focus on the voices of youth. In addition to inclusion of youth members in government delegations, the UAE is funding participation of youth delegates from civil society and the private sector.

Antigua and Barbuda was represented at the meeting by Hon. Molwyn Joseph, Minister of Health, Wellness and the Environment, and Diann Black-Layne, Ambassador for Climate Change and the Chief Environment Officer of the Department of the Environment. While at the meeting the Minister, attending the special session for Ministers of Health, was asked to give perspective of financing for adaptation to the impact on the health sector.

Minister Joseph addressed the meeting of Ministers and called for a fund to be established to allow for the rapid recovery from extreme weather events. The Minister also noted that the Caribbean countries did not contribute to this crisis yet are paying a steep price. The meeting went on to discuss that at the current rate of greenhouse gas emissions the world will become 3-5 degrees hotter. With the recent unprecedented heat waves in Europe the entire meeting had a sense of urgency and call for action by all Governments.

The meeting was a preparation for the Climate Summit to be held in September, with each country being asked for signed commitments to raise the level of action by all countries to fight climate change. To this end Antigua and Barbuda will be revising its climate actions and make a submission in 2020. For the September Summit the Cabinet is considering several options to scale up the national actions of Antigua and Barbuda. These will be announced prior to the September summit.

The summit will have a conference specifically for youth under the age of 18 that are involved in climate action in their country. The Department of the Environment in Antigua and Barbuda will be seeking nominations from schools and other institutions for one male and one female to join the Government delegation to New York. More information will be forthcoming.

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