Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda and Caricom chairman Gaston Browne has urged Caribbean leaders including Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to let go of the fear of repercussions and pursue a legal path to climate change funding. Browne made the call during the final show of COP26 – Now or Never on CNC3 on Friday night.
His government has formed a commission on climate change based on international law seeking to introduce a legal pathway to complement the voluntary efforts of large polluting countries to become legally responsible for their emissions. Tuvalu, an independent island in the South Pacific, was one of the early signees but the Antigua prime minister called for support closer to home.
“We do not believe we can depend exclusively on their random acts of charity whenever our countries suffer the adverse effects of climate. They must be made to pay,” he said of high polluting nations.
Browne said regional leaders must take a stand and not act out of fear that the international community will victimise them.
