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Caribbean Life, March 24-30, 2022
Protecting nature to protect the future we want
By Minister Simon Stiell
(Grenada) and Minister Matthew
Samuda (Jamaica)
A global group of scientists and
experts known as the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) have for several years provided
scientific guidance to international
governments in an effort
to advance action on global warming.
Last week, the IPCC’s latest
scientific report onthe climate crisis
was released.
It was uncharacteristically
blunt in its conclusions: “Any further
delay in concerted anticipatory
global action on adaptation and
mitigation will miss a brief and
rapidly closing window of opportunity
to secure a liveable and
sustainable future for all.”
Reports issued by the IPCC are
meant to assist all governments
in creating workable solutions to
mitigate the impacts of the climate
crisis by providing expert
advice. In recognition of the rallying
cry by global small islands
to cap global temperature rise by
1.5oC, the IPCC also providescustomized
recommendations for
nations like ours.
This latest IPCC report comes
as a stark reminder that the world
has already warmed 1.1oC, just
a few degrees shy of the 1.5oC
temperature goal. With its most
pressing recommendations no
longer tailored toward vulnerable
geopolitical regions like our own,
it made strikingly clear that the
entire globe was at risk. The wording
throughout the text of this latest
report was the strongest yet. It
emphasized the need for all nations
to rapidly advance concerted and
science–based action to mitigate
the devastation of climate change
and find opportunities to rapidly
transition away from unsustainable
economicmodels. This is the
reason why our governments, Barbados,
Grenada, and Jamaica and
a growing coalition of Caribbean
nations are part of the 85 + member
strong collective championing
a global deal for nature and people
with the central goal of protecting
30% of the world’s land and sea
by 2030.This 30×30 goal launched
by the High Ambition Coalition
(HAC) for Nature and People, is
co–chaired by the governments of
Costa Rica, France, and the United
Kingdom — our allies in advancing
the globe toward a more sustainable
future.
The HAC’s promotion of the
30×30 target is a proactive country–
driven response to the climate
and biodiversity emergencies that
face our planet, particularly small
vulnerable economies such as
those of the Caribbean.But what
exactly does protecting 30% of the
planet’s environment look like?
The 30×30 goal is an international
target that aggregates the protected
areas of every participating
nation and was designed to complement
each nation’s abilities.
For example, large ocean states
like ours are ina better position
to protect large portions of our
marine resources, while an almost
entirely landlocked country can
commit to a much larger land protection
goal. Steeped in science,
this 30×30 target will safeguard
almost a third of our planet’s
oceans and lands including the
biodiversity and critical ecosystem
services they provide. More pressingly,
it will provide a third of the
climate mitigation needed by 2030
to ensure our planetary survival.
Op - E ds
Our Caribbean nations are only
as strong as the environment they
rely on, and the 30×30 goal allows
our nations to inject much needed
resilience into our natural ecosystems
to ensure that our people,
culture and economies have a
fighting chance in responding to
climate change.Effectively managing
our natural assets also ensures
that our nations collectively build
and learn together to advance
beyond our current vulnerabilities
and lay the foundation urgently
needed to support achievement of
the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development.
As Barbados’s Prime Minister
Mia Mottley, the only Caribbean
leader featured at the opening
ceremony at last year’s global
climate conference shared during
her address, the onus is on
today’s governments to advocate
and champion the preservation
of their nations: “Leaders today,
not leaders in 2030 or 2050, must
make this choice. It is in our
hands. Our people and our planet
need it.”
It should come as no surprise
then that our governments and
our region are especially committed
to implementing sustainable
solutions. 30×30 is therefore an
essential guide to our sustainable
advancement.In late February,
we represented our governments
amongst global delegates in Nairobi,
Kenya, as part of the United
Nations Environment Assembly
(UNEA). At this meeting we discussed
pivotal next steps to protecting
the planet’s biodiversity
and agreed to a resolution tailored
to actioning the integration of
decisive conservation measures
into our domestic policy.
The meeting also revealed
that vulnerable nations like ours
will need a total of $60 billion
in finance from major economies
to protect our natural resources.
This was a landmark moment for
the conservation sector as it made
more evident than before just how
impracticable it is for vulnerable
nations to play a contributing
role in 30×30 and catalyze our
sustainable development without
the assistance of the international
community.With over 85 countries
taking part in the 30×30 target,
a much clearer picture emerges
of how this rallying call can be
successful.
Certain key biodiversity rich
regions like ours are being relied
on to protect a percentage of both
land and water given our cultural
and economic dependence onservices
provided by both our terrestrial
and marine ecosystems. With
our nations committing to both
land and sea protection we will
contribute to the following global
benefits:● Safeguarding 500 gigatonnes
of carbon stored in vegetation
and soils;● Reducing the risk
of zoonotic disease outbreaks like
COVID–19;● Supporting 30 million
jobs and $500B of GDP in
ecotourism and sustainable fisheries;
● Restoring depleted fishing
grounds and fish populations by
600%; and● Increasing food security
and improving local economies.
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Grenada’s Environment Minister Simon Stiell speaks to the media at the UN Climate Change Conference
(COP26), in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, Nov. 12, 2021. REUTERS/Yves Herman
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