Earth Today | Regional parliamentarians affirm role in effort to minimise climate risk

PARLIAMENTARIANS FROM eight Caribbean countries recently affirmed the critical role that parliaments need to play in championing sustainable development and holding governments to account for national strategies and policies aimed at combating climate change and implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Port of Spain Declaration was issued by members of the parliaments of Barbados, Cuba, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Saint Lucia, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago, who gathered in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, on December 5-6, 2019, for the Second Regional Seminar for Parliaments of the Caribbean that looked at ‘Strengthening parliamentary action on the SDGs’.

The seminar was also attended by representatives of civil society from Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI), an independent non-profit organisation operating across the Caribbean.

CANARI’s Executive Director, Nicole Leotaud, presented on the role being played by civil society organisations (CSOs) to address climate change, especially meeting the needs of the most vulnerable, including coastal communities and people depending on natural resources for their livelihoods.

“Civil society needs more support, including financing, to scale up the important work that they are doing to address climate change and deliver the SDGs,” she noted.

The role of parliaments in ensuring appropriate budgetary allocations to address climate change and the SDGs was also highlighted.

The valuable work being done was appreciated by parliamentarians and is reflected in the Port of Spain Declaration which states: “Special emphasis should be placed on developing parliamentary mechanisms for effective partnerships with civil society and other actors that work in communities.”

Key feature of the meeting

“A strong message emerging was the need for a whole-of-society approach to address climate change and the SDGs. Another key feature of the meeting was recognition of the oversight role of parliaments to ensure accountability and transparency, including in implementation of multilateral environmental agreements,” noted a release from CANARI on the meeting.

The Port of Spain Declaration, meanwhile, highlights the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Escazú Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, noting that, “We reinforce the urgent need for parliaments to use their budgetary and legislative powers to create an enabling environment for national ratification and implementation of these agreements”.

Currently, 21 countries have signed, including five that have ratified the Escazú Agreement.

“CANARI and others are calling for the immediate signing and ratification of the Escazú Agreement, which can help to significantly strengthen the mechanisms for participatory environmental governance in Caribbean countries,” the entity said.

CANARI, the Cropper Foundation, EquiGov Institute and Environment Tobago are currently leading a national advocacy campaign on the Escazú Agreement in Trinidad and Tobago, and CANARI is reaching out to partner CSOs in other Caribbean countries to launch a regional campaign in January 2020, with support from the European Union.