A delegation of Cayman Islands Government representatives, led by the Premier and Minister for Sustainability & Climate Resiliency, Hon.G. Wayne Panton, JP, MP, recently travelled to the Bahamas to participate in the Caribbean Regional Heads of Government Meeting in Preparation for COP27. 

Delegates met to discuss four thematic areas of importance to the Caribbean region: mitigation, adaptation and loss and damage, support, and cross-cutting issues such as transparency and reporting. 

The Commonwealth of the Bahamas is seeking to have the regional meeting instituted as an
annual fixture on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
calendar. This is in an effort to present a unified Caribbean position at international
negotiations at the Conference of the Parties (COP27), taking place in Sharm El-Sheikh,
Egypt in November 2022.

Panton said the conference provided meaningful opportunities for relationship-building with
regional counterparts and collaboration between the United Kingdom Overseas Territories
(UKOTs) on a needs-oriented strategic approach.

“The impacts of climate change are a shared challenge globally, but even more so from a
regional perspective. Meeting with the esteemed delegates of other Caribbean countries
allowed us to identify our susceptibilities as Small-Island Developing States in our region, and
develop a forum for creating unified solutions. After several meaningful discussions, we are able
to move forward with the cautious optimism that collaborative climate action will accelerate,”
said the Premier.

“The current global climate debate has largely been focused on mitigation – we now need to
shift that focus to include adaptation, and integrate loss and damage compensation into our
discussions on finance,” he added.  In addition to regional Government convenings, the Cayman Islands delegates also met with the UNFCCC Secretariat and co-founder of Rebalance Earth Dr. Ralph Chami, who visited the Cayman Islands in April 2021, and his Blue Green World Inc. and Beneath the Waves colleagues.

Also representing the Cayman Islands at the meeting were Deputy Chief Officer for the
Cabinet Office Jason Webster and Senior Policy Advisor (Environment & Resiliency) in the
Ministry of Sustainability & Climate Resiliency Lisa Hurlston-McKenzie.

Hurlston-McKenzie said the meetings provided greater clarity on important regional initiatives related to climate change response and resiliency. “A number of cross-cutting, regional issues and solutions were discussed over the course of the three-day convening.

It was generally recognised that the Caribbean region needs to urgently transform its economies to ones of resiliency, and collectively build capacity to overcome common barriers, including implementing data-backed programmes to affect meaningful adaptation and mitigation. Access to available climate finance for blue-green economic transformation and wider resiliency remains a challenge for the region, especially for the UKOTs,” she said. 

The Government of the Bahamas is finalising a Chair’s Summary based on input from the delegations which will be made available shortly, detailing the discussions around the thematic areas, regional priorities for COP27, and solutions that emerged from the meeting.