Barbados remains committed to doing all within its power to mitigate the impact of climate change as it seeks to create a climate-resilient pathway.
This was emphasised by Minister of the Environment and National Beautification, with responsibility for the Blue Economy, Adrian Forde, during an update of Barbados’ Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at Hilton Barbados Resort, recently.
The NDC is a national plan submitted by Parties to the Paris Agreement of the UNFCCC, and embodies efforts by countries to reduce national greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the adverse impacts of global climate change.
The Minister noted that the Sixth Assessment Report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, prepared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, indicated that climate impacts were already more widespread, occurring earlier and were far worse than expected.
However, Mr. Forde said that Government had proposed a number of initiatives in keeping with Barbados’ goal to achieve a fossil fuel-free economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors to as close to zero as possible by 2030.
Those initiatives are: The Roof to Reefs Programme, which is specifically designed to strengthen resilience and adaptation and make a mitigation contribution; the Barbados National Energy Policy, which commits to a clean energy future through a fossil fuel-free electricity, and a clean transport sector and actions that build resilience and improve efficiency in the waste and water resources sectors.
“The new goals and targets set out in Barbados’ updated NDC represents an increased ambition when compared to our first NDC submitted in 2015, and demonstrate that Barbados, as miniscule as our emissions are, is committed to doing its fair share to address the adverse impacts of climate change,” the Minister said.
Speaking during the workshop, Country Representative of the Inter-American Development Bank, Viviana del Carmen Alva Hart, applauded the efforts made by Government and its strong commitment to making climate change a cornerstone of its recovery strategy.
She noted that the submission of the updated NDC to the UNFCCC Secretariat was one of the first milestones towards achieving the Paris Agreement goals.
The Country Representative noted that the NDC process included an exhaustive review of national policies, programmes and projects; data collection, and the identification of main challenges and opportunities for enhancement.