Barbados has received high praise from Commonwealth Secretary General, Baroness Patricia Scotland for its efforts in combating climate change.
During a tree planting ceremony in the National Botanical Gardens this morning, Baroness Scotland noted that Barbados started the movement in the Caribbean to combat climate change and to implement the necessary adaptation and mitigation measures.
Baroness Scotland, in echoing statements made by Prime Mia Amor Mottley, stated that climate change is a universal vulnerability, and “we are the first generation to suffer the consequences of climate change and we are the last generation to be able to do something about it”.
Minister of the Environment and National Beautification, Trevor Prescod, stated that small island developing states, whose national determined contributions are the lowest worldwide are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
“Therefore, we have to do all that we can to put up that kind of resilience that is imperative in order for our people to survive,” he said, adding that the ‘We Plantin’ More Than A Million Trees’ project as well as the flood alleviation project in Holetown were efforts being undertaken in Barbados to combat climate change.
Baroness Scotland planted a Baobab Tree, which is referred to as ‘tree of life’, while Minister Prescod planted a West Indian Mahogany tree.