Hon. Dr. Omar Figueroa, Minister of State in the Ministry of Fisheries, Forestry, the Environment, and Sustainable Development, leads a delegation of government officials at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP23) in Bonn, Germany. The COP23 meeting calls for not only the preservation of the global consensus of the landmark adoption of the Paris Climate Change Agreement but urges for greater momentum by countries to build resilience and low carbon societies.
During the opening ceremonies, H.E. Frank Bainimarama, Prime Minister of Fiji and the new President of the COP23 conference, pleaded for faster action as the conference comes on the heels of recent extreme weather events that ravaged hundreds of communities and displaced millions of people in the Caribbean, Asia and the Americas. He stated: “The human suffering caused by intensifying hurricanes, wildfires, droughts, floods and threats to food security caused by climate change means there is no time to waste.” In support of this, on Sunday, 12thNovember 2017 countries signed the Bonn-Fiji Commitment to take further and faster action to deliver the Paris Climate Change Agreement at all levels of government.
Following the signing of the commitment, Minister Figueroa explained that Belize’s ability to build resilience against the impacts of Climate Change hinges on our decisive and fast action now. He added that: “We cannot afford to ignore the devastation that Climate Change has on people. Confronting Climate Change challenges requires swift, collective and cohesive actions of our governments, local leaders, civil society, the private sector and each individual.”
The 2017 UN Climate Change Conference, which began on 5th November, will conclude on 17th November 2017. As it reviews the progress of governments, the conference focuses on two critical and inter-linked areas:
- Governments working to increase climate action under the terms of the Paris Agreement and the UN Climate Change Convention and;
- Showcasing, fostering and launching new and expanding global climate action initiatives by all actors with a view towards better coordination that aligns efforts in more efficient, effective and transformative ways.
