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Prime Minister Gaston Browne
The government of Antigua and Barbuda will use the upcoming Climate Change Conference (COP 29) in Azerbaijan to emphasize the importance of operationalizing the Loss and Damage Fund for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) that bear the full brunt of climate change.
Prime Minister Gaston Browne stated that one of the recommendations for all SIDS is to establish a disaster contingency fund to capitalize on the proceeds from the Loss and Damage fund, which should be replenished periodically.
“We should not have to rely on pledging conferences to determine where resources for recovery will come from. There should be a compensatory mechanism within the Loss and Damage fund to assist us in recovery. Antigua and Barbuda has been advocating for the fund’s operationalization, hopefully within the next year at most,” Browne said.
At the UN Climate Change Conference 2022 (COP27) in Egypt, an agreement was reached to create a fund to help low-income developing countries offset the damage from natural disasters caused by climate change.
Named the “Loss and Damage Fund,” this financial mechanism is designed to provide crucial support to vulnerable nations facing severe climate-related challenges. To facilitate the implementation of the fund and related climate finance mechanisms, a Transitional Committee was formed, comprising representatives from 24 nations, both developed and developing.
Antigua and Barbuda has appointed Peter Abraham Jnr to sit on the board overseeing this process.
The 2024 Baku Climate Change Conference, or COP 29, is an international conference organized by the United Nations, scheduled to take place from November 11 to 22, 2024, in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. It will be the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP) and will bring together the signatory countries of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
I hope that we’re not going lost the funds this time like we did for Barbuda when the bank lost it according to the PM.