Minister of Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development, Dr. Gale Rigobert, on Wednesday 7th September, participated in a CARICOM Ministerial meeting in Grenada, in preparation for the 22nd Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 22) which will be held in Morocco later this year.
According to Dr. Rigobert, Climate Change is of critical concern because of the acute impact on our economy, people, livelihoods, physical resources and landscape.
The Ministerial meeting briefed Ministers responsible for Climate Change on developments since COP 21 in Paris and highlighted key areas for consideration at the forthcoming COP 22.
One of the major areas of concern was the availability of climate financing to small developing states. Dr. Rigobert, while recognizing the tremendous efforts that have been made, has lamented the slow uptake of available climate financing; “There are lots of climate financing options out there, but for one reason or another, many small developing states like Saint Lucia, have not been able to access significant amounts of the resources available.”
In this regard, Dr. Rigobert has committed to quadrupling current efforts to access these resources.
Dr. Rigobert is confident that she and her team from Sustainable Development are well poised to participate fully and meaningfully in COP 22 and to build upon, and strengthen, Saint Lucia’s advocacy at the international level.
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