UNITED NATIONS, United States (CMC) — Grenada has called on other Caribbean nations and Small Island Development States to serve as “test cases” for nationwide implementation of climate-related technologies and advances.
In addressing the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly Debate on Saturday, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter David said the Caribbean also represents “some of the most globally compelling business cases for sustainable renewable energy investment.
“Being climate smart goes beyond policies,” he said. “It goes beyond resilient housing, resilient infrastructure and resilient agriculture.
“It means that the region can also serve as a global beacon for renewable energy and energy efficiency,” David added. “We aim to not only be resilient, but with our region’s tremendous potential in hydro-electricity and geothermal energy, we could also be climate smart.”
In understanding the need to rethink the Caribbean’s adaptation to climate change, David said the Government of Grenada has established a new “over-arching” ministry, titled the Ministry of Climate Resilience, Environment, Fisheries, Forestry, Disaster Management and Information.
He said its mandate is to “work speedily to ensure that engrained in every aspect of our country’s development is the question of addressing climate change and climate resilience.”
The Foreign Affairs Minister said Grenada is also currently shifting some of its macroeconomic focus to ensure attention is paid to the development of its green and blue economies, “thus marrying economic development with environmental sustainability.”
He said while the road to climate-smart sustainability is “long and arduous,” it is not insurmountable, “and we must ensure that we are strategic in this journey.”
In building climate-smart and sustainable societies, David said the inherent need to improve the health of citizens and the conditions for fostering good health must not be discounted.
But, he said, unfortunately, like many Caribbean Community states and other developing nations, Grenada struggles with the scourge of non-communicable diseases.
He, therefore, called for global leadership and looks forward to international solutions “that would preserve the health of our people, promote longevity and sustain our future.”
