by STAFF WRITER
ROSEAU, Dominica, Aug 14, CMC – Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit Monday confirmed that the two-day retreat of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders scheduled to have been held here later this month, has been postponed and a new date will be set as soon as possible.
The Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) last week quoting informed sources reported that the August 18-19 retreat would not now take place, but could not give a reason at the time for the postponement.
Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit and CARICOM chairman at a news conference on Monday.
The sources said that it appears that some of those expected to attend the retreat will not now be able to do so.
Speaking at a news conference here on Monday, Skerrit, who is also the chairman of the 15-member regional integration grouping, told reporters that the “retreat has been called off and will be rescheduled at a later date.
“The reason being some heads are not available and it was important to have all heads available for this retreat,” Skerrit said, adding that Dominica is examining the possibility of hosting a retreat of the leaders from the sub-regional Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).
“A number of heads have confirmed their attendance and we are working on others and once we confirmed that then we will inform you of the decision on the hosting,” he said.
At the end of their 45th summit in Port of Spain last month, the regional leaders announced that the two-day retreat would allow for a review of a number of reports including regional governance and strengthening functional cooperation, ahead of their next mid-term summit scheduled for Guyana.
Skerrit told reporters that while there is “no set date” regarding the retreat for CARICOM leaders, “with so many competing events and schedules…it is an absolute important action which CARICOM needs to take.
“There are some very critical matters CARICOM needs to consider, one of which is regional travel, the other has to do with trade and the removal of barriers, the issue of food security, where are we with respect to reducing our food import bill by 25 percent by 2025…where are we on the actions to take to achieve this.”
The CARICOM chairman said that the issue of climate is another important item to be discussed by the regional leaders, “it is a major issue confronting us.
“I don’t think… we as Caribbean people understand and appreciate the existential threat that climate change poses to us and the reality is the developed world they give beautiful sounding speeches, they express empathy to us, but the things that they need to honour they have been failing to honour them”.
Skerrit said even after countries signed the Paris Agreement in 2015 setting out a global framework to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to well below two degrees centigrade pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C, “nothing that we have agreed in this Paris Agreement has come to reality”.
The agreement also aims to strengthen countries’ ability to deal with the impacts of climate change and support them in their efforts Skerrit said “There is a commitment that the developed world would make available US$100 billion annually to a fund that countries like ours would have access to build resilience against natural disasters….
“So we are calling on the international community to fulfill its commitment to us,” he said, telling reporters last Friday he was in Barbados along with other regional leaders meeting with the incoming President of COP 28, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber.
The Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will take place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from November 30 to December 12 this year.
“One of the matters which we placed at the feet of the incoming president of COP 28…is to get the developed world to fulfill their obligation of making the US$100 billion available. Because every time we go to a COP meeting…it is always a new proposal on the table and not a reflection of fulfilling their commitment”.
Skerrit said when the commitment of providing US$100 million was made “it was always the understanding of all parties that it would be in grants and now they are talking about private sector financing, they are talking about loans and all kinds of things.
“As we have said to the international community… that we don’t want no pity from anybody. An injustice has been meted out to us because climate change is a result of the behaviour and practices of the developed world, industrialized world which has affected us and so it is akin to someone putting your house on fire and the need for the person to compensate you. So it is really compensation,” Skerrit said.
The CARICOM chairman said the issue really should have been dealt with by the courts “but we are seeking to have an out-of-court settlement on the matter.
“If we leave Dubai in December of this year with nobody delivering a cheque, it would really be an unfortunate thing for us,” he said, adding “We understand the geopolitics issues around taking place…but we are in a war we did not start”.
CMC/pr/ir/2023