Attendees at the Conference with Carlisle Richardson at far right.
ANGUILLA–Carlisle Richardson represented Anguilla at the 23rd Conference of the Parties to the United Nations (UN) Convention on Climate Change COP23. The meeting was held in Bonn, Germany, and chaired by Fiji. It is viewed as an opportunity to build on the Paris Agreement of 2015. Richardson is a former Ambassador of St. Kitts and Nevis to the UN and a former UN Small Island Developing States expert. He was part of the team that launched the Front-line Cities and Islands initiative, as a means of helping islands build resilience to climate change.
The programme is designed for sustainable island and urban development through partnerships and addresses a range of issues important to islands. These include resilience and systems planning; climate change and clean energy; healthy oceans and near-shore coastal fisheries management; resilient infrastructure and innovative finance; ecosystems services for resilience and post-disaster recovery; and sustainable tourism.
Richardson said, “We are at the frontline of climate change, and we are also at the frontline of climate solutions.” He envisions partnerships through the city-to-city twinning process where cities and communities learn from each other, have discussions about projects, and implement strategies for sustainable development.”
He noted that Caribbean islands have viewed climate change as a major factor in the destructive 2017 hurricane season and those affected by the hurricanes are focused on “building back better.” The Front-line Cities and Islands initiative was developed with that type of focus in mind. This initiative therefore presents an opportunity for Caribbean islands to pursue an additional option in strengthening their resilience to climate change and natural disasters.
The partners of the Front-line Cities and Islands initiative are ICLEI, and the Global Island Partnership GLISPA. ICLEI is an international agency promoting sustainable urban development through the actions of local governments and organisations that have made a commitment to sustainable development. GLISPA promotes action to build resilient and sustainable island communities by inspiring leadership, catalysing commitments and facilitating collaboration for all islands.
Attending the Conference were representatives from Fiji, Mexico, New Zealand, Germany and others. The next meeting, COP24, will be held in Katowice, Poland, in December 2018.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/71195-anguillian-involved-with-global-climate-resilience-for-islands
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