During COP28, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, together with the Initiative for Climate Action Transparency (ICAT) and the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute (GHGMI), held a side event to showcase how Small Island Developing States are leading climate action by using transparency in various sectors.

The panel of speakers included Technical Data Officer Aaliyah Tuitt, who represented Antigua and Barbuda, along with Deepitika Chand from Fiji, Ahmed Waheed from Maldives, and Molly White from GHGMI.

Before the panel discussion, Ena Dalso-Henry, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Wellness, Social Transformation and the Environment, gave opening remarks on behalf of the Minister, Sir Molwyn Joseph.

Mrs. Henry spoke about Antigua and Barbuda’s progress in submitting reports to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and stated that “As small island nations, it is extremely difficult to continue leading the charge when we are not afforded the same opportunities and access to resources.

Ms. Tuitt talked about Antigua and Barbuda’s achievements with their first ICAT project and how transparency was used to inform the developments within the transport sector. She also spoke about the mechanisms in place that help the agency collect the necessary data needed for completing the required reports and performing analyses.

This project, implemented by the Department of Environment, helped build capacity in developing mitigation models and projections based on the country’s NDC targets. Antigua and Barbuda has key mitigation targets focusing on the transport sector, such as “100% of all new vehicle sales to be electric vehicles by 2030.”