By Gerrino J. Saunders
Journal Staff Writer

Prime Minister Philip Davis held nothing back and received a round of
applause following his powerful speech to world leaders at the United
Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku Azerbaijan where he
challenged global leaders to address the complexities of climate change
with the same zeal and financial backing they commit to wars and fighting
pandemics.
Mr. Davis began his speech by noting that this past year has been the
hottest in recorded history.
He said, “for the first time, for more than 12 months, global temperatures
have exceeded the warming threshold of 1.5-degrees Celsius. We are
dangerously close to a line beyond which there is no return—a line that
separates the world as we know it from a world unrecognizable.”
“Our choice today will either be remembered as the moment we stepped
forward together or as the instant we allowed the world to slip from our
grasp. How will they judge us? Will they say we were too timid, too divided,
to save what we had the power to protect,” he asked?
The Prime Minister said catastrophic climate events witnessed around the
world have led to major loss of life, property and infrastructure and world
leaders persist in responding to these events as though they are merely
unfortunate, isolated and national.
“I ask you to look beyond borders, beyond flags,” he said. “The fires that
devour your forests, the hurricanes that shatter our homes, are not distant
misfortunes but shared tragedies. What we endure, you endure; what we
lose, you lose. And if we fail to act, it will be our children and grand
children who bear the burden, their dreams reduced to memories of what
we could have saved.”

“This is the fundamental principle underpinning this United Nations
Framework. None of us can achieve a solution by acting on our own. And
none of us can escape the obligation to act in the best interests of ourselves
and each other. Our survival is in our hands, and hope lies not in waiting,
but in moving forward with the fierce determination to secure a future that
give humanity the best chance.”
“In order to protect that shared interest – now and into the future – urgent,
serious action is needed to reduce carbon emissions. We know this,” said
Mr Davis.
He reminded the global leaders that a continuation of current practices will
lead to a catastrophic rise in temperature of up to 3.1 degrees celsius above
pre-industrial levels.
He also noted that the current Nationally Determined Commitments made
for 2030 are not being met. And even if they were, the world would still face
a rise in temperature of 2.6 to 2.8 degrees Celsius.
However, he said it is still technically possible to meet the goal of 1.5 degree
celsius, but only if there is a G20-led massive global mobilization to cut all
greenhouse gas emissions. As they are responsible for 80% of all carbon
emissions, it is possible.
To meet the goal of 1.5 degree celsius Prime Minister Davis said they would
need to act “dramatically and decisively” and action would need to start
today.
He said, “in the face of all this, we still refuse to give up, refuse to lose hope.
We do not – cannot – accept that our survival is merely an option. And so,
in The Bahamas we continue to play our part. We continue to preserve and
protect the forests of grasses in our seas, which are estimated to absorb
more carbon than the Amazon Rainforest. If the Amazon provides the lungs
to the planet, our sea grasses are its hidden blue heart.”
Mr. Davis said his government will continue its transition to sources of
renewable energy, and it will continue to pioneer the use of blue carbon
credits, to support the architecture of international climate finance.

“We want to play our part,” he said. “But alone, we cannot succeed in any
of it. We simply do not have the resources. And each hurricane, each
climate disaster, leaves us with even less.”
The Prime Minister implored his audience to not forget the historic
achievement of The Paris Agreement.
He said in Article 9, the special circumstances of Small Island Developing
States and Least Developed Countries were addressed in its climate finance
provisions.
“The numbers paint a clear picture,” he said. “Small Island Developing
States have spent 18 times more in debt repayments than they have
received in climate finance. Our ‘special circumstances’ require more
action, not less. These provisions must urgently now be fully
operationalised, along with the other funding commitments previously
made. Merely describing the special circumstances is not enough.
“And even as we now approach the eleventh hour of an agreement, we are
deeply concerned that some of the Parties now systematically seek to erase
this fundamental provision of the Paris Agreement,” said Mr. Davis.
Continuing he said, “The greatest challenge we face isn’t just political
will—it’s political change. We’re witnessing governments come to power
that are retreating from climate commitments, dismissing the Paris
Agreement, and turning inward.
“This isn’t a crisis we can afford to address sporadically, nor is it a battle
that can be won in isolated chapters, written and erased with every election.
If we leave climate action to the whims of political cycles, our planet’s
future becomes precarious.”
“The climate crisis does not pause for elections or accommodate the sway of
changing political tides. It demands continuity, commitment, and, most of
all, solidarity,” said Mr Davis.