Barbados PM Mia Mottley describes COP26 as "Vital Meeting"

Barbados: Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley has described the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) as a "vital meeting."

PM Mottley made the remarks on Wednesday before planting a tree on the grounds of Ilaro Court, as part of a pre-COP26 event, to be held in Glasgow, Scotland, from October 31 to November 12. British High Commissioner Scott Furssedonn-Wood also planted a tree at the Prime Minister's Official Residence.

During the short ceremony, the Prime Minister said: “COP26 is such a vital meeting because it requires us to convene the political will to be able to make decisions that will literally affect the lives of those of us ... who live in small island developing states.

“But we also recognize that because the world has acted so slowly, those who live between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn are now affected as well. It is in this context, therefore, that our voices will continue to be heard; that we will make demands for justice and morality to guide the actions of the countries.”

PM Mottley stressed that Barbados will continue to fight. She said that while Barbados was asking the world to "step up to the plate" the island had a duty to do the same.

“Before COVID, we expected to plant a million trees. We literally had to put that aside because the same resources, on a small island, they are doing various things.

"The Minister of the Environment, the Honorable Adrian Forde, has been very, very passionate about this and therefore I hope he can resume this [tree planting] program in 2022," she added.

[caption id="attachment_38496" align="aligncenter" width="439"] Tessa Furssedonn-Wood waters a fruit tree which was planted today at Ilaro Court while her father, British High Commissioner, Scott Furssedonn-Wood and sister, Romilly, look on.[/caption]

The Prime Minister said that Barbados and Britain had high ambitions for next week's meeting. Without that great ambition, she added, Barbados would continue to pay a price due to climate change.

“Now we regularly have these short, sharp and intense showers. It is absolutely critical that the Ministry of Public Works have a consistent well cleaning program.

“And what we found on going in is that there really hasn't been an adequate record of the location of the wells in this entire country. And the government, like many other things, is trying to put that in order now, because floods mean damage, [and] floods mean possible loss of life,” she revealed.

British High Commissioner Furssedonn-Wood said next week's meeting would be the largest gathering of world leaders in the UK, with more than 130 leaders expected to be present at the COP26. He also underscored the importance of the meeting and said that the decisions that are made will shape the future of the planet.

He continued: “Prime Minister, we are particularly delighted that you will be there in Glasgow and that you are playing such a prominent role, because we want your voice and the voice of other countries that are on the front lines of a climate crisis, that you did not create… to be heard loud and clear.

“We want people to understand what is happening in this region: the challenge that you face from climate change, rising sea levels, floods [and] drought. All these things that represent something very close to an existential challenge for the people of this region.”

The British High Commissioner indicated that the world needs to understand that much more needs to be done for countries affected by climate change and to support these states.

He added that the UK Government had worked tirelessly with governments around the world, including Barbados, to ensure the success of COP26.