Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris at the Climate Change and the Commonwealth forum held at the InterContinental London Park Lane Hotel.
LONDON, England--Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris joined fellow leaders of the Commonwealth community for in-depth discussions on climate change and its varying impacts on member countries during a forum held within the margins of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London.
The Climate Change and the Commonwealth forum which was held at the InterContinental London Park Lane Hotel on Tuesday morning, sought to encourage leaders to demonstrate their goal of delivering a more sustainable future by setting more ambitious climate change goals and accelerating action to accomplish them.
Tuesday’s forum, held under the theme “Accelerating Action,” was chaired by Prime Minister of Fiji and President of the 23rd annual Conference of the Parties to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP23, Frank Bainimarama and also featured remarks from Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Patricia Scotland.
Among the topics addressed during the important dialogue were COP23 Presidency priorities for 2018, Post-Paris Agreement priorities and call to action, and the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy project, which is a global conservation initiative that seeks to preserve precious areas of forest for future generations.
Prime Minister Bainimarama also led discussions on the Talanoa Dialogue. This process takes stock of collective efforts to reduce emissions and build greater resilience, in line with the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement; and to prepare updated or new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by 2020.
Prime Minister Harris has long been a firm advocate for greater climate change adaptation strategies. Following the passage of Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 that left several Caribbean islands in a state of devastation, including St. Kitts and Nevis, the St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister called on the Caribbean Community Caricom member states to move towards building a more climate-resilient Caribbean region.
As part of his packed agenda at the 2018 CHOGM, Dr. Harris also joined his Caricom counterparts for a meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May on the issue of undocumented Caribbean migrants (see related story).
