By: Licec Bastian

United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate (SPEC), John Kerry shot down
the suggestion that the U.S could pay “climate reparations”. In fact, when he testified
at a House of Foreign Affairs Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee hearing on
the State Department’s climate budget back in July this year, Mr. Kerry, based on
international media outlets, exclaimed: “No. Under no circumstances”.
According to online publication Reuters, “The United States has backed the creation
of a funding mechanism to address the “loss and damage” incurred by vulnerable
countries as result of major or recurring disasters that was secured at the COP27
conference in Egypt last November, but the deal did not spell out who would pay into
the fund or how money would be disbursed”.
This was the backdrop of Prime Minister Philip Davis’s comments when he called on
the U.S to reconsider its position on climate change matters and the impact climate
change has on Small Island Development States.
“I wish to call upon them [U.S] to revisit a statement that was made by John Kerry
where they are declining to consider assisting Small Island Developing States (SIDS)
in respect to some loss and damage particularly for those over the last several years
which is burdening most of our Small Island Developing States with the debt incurred
as a result of recovery efforts following hurricane events.
And so, it is clearly important [and] I’m hoping that they [U.S] could revisit that
question and we could firmly address it and come out with concrete outcomes at
COP28, in Dubai, when we meet,” PM Davis said.
In less than 100 days the 28th Conference of the Parties to the U.N Framework
Convention on Climate Change or COP28 will be held in Dubai. The COP28 UAE
(United Arab Emirates) intends to bring world leaders together who are then expected
to “to deliver transformative Climate Action” at Expo City Dubai.
“The United States plays a very import[ant] [role] on most issues that impact the
global community. They are viewed as leaders in most aspects of issues impacting the
global landscape; and so their role at COP[28] is particularly important and
significant for the advancement of the issues that impact Small Island Developing
States (SIDS), like ourselves.

“And, so, it is expected that they continue to lead but lead in a way that is sensitive to
our needs and that is responsive to our needs,” the prime minister said.
“Climate reparations” suggests liability on the U.S’s part as SIDS contribute very
little to or not at all to climate change, particularly when it comes to carbon emissions
which are warming oceans and causing more intense hurricanes.
At COP27, held in the green city of Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, participating countries
agreed to set up a fund – a Loss and Damage Fund – to assist vulnerable countries that
have seen climate related natural disasters.
In June Prime Minister Davis and U.S Vice President Kamala Harris co-hosted a U.S
Caribbean Leaders Meeting which focused on addressing the existential threat of the
climate crisis in Caribbean nations.
The prime minister, during a visit in Chicago earlier this week, sat down and spoke
with Press Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) and noted that at the
end of this month Caribbean leaders will meet again before COP28.
“The more alliances that are formed around the issues that are common to all of us,
the better chances we have of succeeding in having, what I call, successful outcomes.
“I know the declaration that came out of the African Union’s meeting, in that they
called their pre-COP meeting to enable them to do with one voice; not dissimilar to
what we did last August when we called all the Caribbean leaders together and we
went to COP[27] with one voice and was able to make a difference in respect to [the]
loss and damage debate. And so, that is very useful.
“And when you look at that declaration, their issues and concerns are not dissimilar to
ours. We are having our Caribbean meeting at the End of this month in Grenada
where we will craft our declaration to enable us to come out with one voice,” Prime
Minister Davis said.
While in Chicago, Prime Minister Davis was a part of a roundtable conversation on
Climate Change held at Loyola University and an interview on National Public Radio
focused on climate change, according to a statement from the OPM.
During his time in Chicago, “The Prime Minister also urged action on fair climate
finance to help small island nations like ours prepare for the new climate era and
described our country’s steps to grow stronger, including scaling up our mitigation
and adaptation initiatives, working with scientists to map and protect our carbon-

absorbing seagrasses, and strengthening our new Youth Guard, in which young
Bahamians will work alongside our national security forces to offer communities
support before and after storms. 
“Prime Minister Davis was in Chicago, Illinois, on Monday, working to deepen ties to
city and state leaders and the Obama Foundation to promote investment opportunities
in our country’s tourism, clean energy, and digital assets sectors; to advocate for
action on our country’s climate change agenda; and to celebrate 50 years of
Independence with Bahamians who reside in Chicago,” the statement added.