BASSETERRE, St. Kitts -- MINISTER of the Environment, Eric Evelyn has laid out St. Kitts and Nevis’ position on climate change and the current threats facing the Federation and other Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
Rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and dramatic changes in rainfall patterns were some of the challenges the minister outlined in his speech this afternoon at the COP26 Meeting ongoing in Glasgow, Scotland.
“We are here at a time when coastal towns and villages and even entire islands face destruction; at a time when lives and livelihoods are at stake, all undoubtedly attributed to human interference. Yet, enough action is not being taken to remedy this situation that worsens with every second that the clock ticks,” the minister said.
Against that backdrop, Evelyn noted that the world is currently at a crossroad where the science is explicit, that in order to contain climate change to an acceptable level “we must limit global temperature increase to 1.5°C”.
But is that being achieved? According to Evelyn, the latest IPCC report indicates that there is a chance that it could be achieved but action must be taken at this point for the goal to be reached.
There has long been a concern that SIDS, like St. Kitts and Nevis, are the ones feeling the brunt of the Climate Change problem but are not responsible for causing the challenge.
Minister Evelyn recently launched the Federation's ambitious Revised Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) which proposes to reduce its emissions by 61% by 2030 compared to 2010 levels.
He revealed that St. Kitts and Nevis will heavily invest in renewable energy with plans for a 35 megawatt solar farm to be operational in two years and continue to aggressively pursue geothermal power.
“Climate friendly policies will enable us to advance initiatives to reduce our carbon footprint. Our efforts have been complemented by the friendship of the Republic of China (Taiwan)," the minister added.
He commended Taiwan for its commitment to fighting the climate dilemma by enacting appropriate legislation and announcing an ambitious NDC which includes achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
