Members of the Antigua and Barbuda delegation to the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) participated in the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Preparatory Meeting, held on the margins of the global climate conference in Belém, Brazil.

At COP30, work is being advanced through two parallel tracks the Leaders’ Summit and the SIDS Coordination Process.

Ambassador Ruleta Camacho-Thomas, Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador for Climate Change, is supporting the Prime Minister, Gaston Browne, in the Leaders’ Summit, while Diann Black-Layne, Director of the Department of Environment, is leading the SIDS negotiating team.

The Antigua and Barbuda delegation also includes Zachary Phillips, Crown Counsel at the Attorney General’s Chambers; Arry Simon, Climate Assessment and Information Officer; and Gita Gardner, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer and Green Climate Fund (GCF) Operational Focal Point.

This year’s COP, hosted by Brazil, has been designated as an Implementation COP, with a strong focus on the protection and management of forests as a critical pathway to achieving the 1.5°C global temperature goal. Forest preservation is central to global mitigation efforts, and the Amazon plays an indispensable role in maintaining planetary climate balance.

Black-Layne underscored the shared responsibility of all nations particularly SIDS to champion forest conservation as part of the collective effort to limit global warming.

“This COP reminds us that the 1.5°C goal is non-negotiable,” she stated.

“Forests are vital to our survival, and supporting Brazil’s initiatives to protect and restore them is essential to turning commitments into real action. This is what an Implementation COP is about moving from words to results”.