Suriname President Chandrikapersad Santokhi has called on the international community to keep to their promises urging that access to climate funds should not be hampered by international bureaucratic red tape.
He told the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) that one year since the event was last held in Scotland, “today we are all more aware that concrete actions are needed now.
“Instead of more pledges, talks and promises for the future, we are living the horrors of climate change and yet we see no significant actions to live up to the Paris Agreement,” said Santokhi, who is also chairman of the 15-member regional integration grouping CARICOM.
“I am standing here as president of a small nation, but also as a representative of a fairly small group of countries, a group of only free countries in the world that are still carbon negative. My country Suriname is also part of a larger grouping of 11 high forest and loaded forestation countries and part of the Amazon Forest.”
He told the international conference that Suriname is part of a grouping of 51 small island developing states (SIDS) and its contribution to the global emission is 0.01 percent.
“We are in effect carbon negative. Despite this, we are highly vulnerable to climate impacts. My country as a low-lying vulnerable coast that is threatened due to the sea level rise, has taken bold decisions to prepare itself.”
Santokhi pointed out that despite billions of dollars in climate finance pledges, virtually none of these promises have been delivered and called on the international community, especially the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, to keep their word.
“We call upon the international community to put its money where its mouth is,” Santokhi said, noting that Caribbean countries have had to deal with the impact of climate change on an almost daily basis.
He said external loans are needed “because we don’t have the resources,” adding that the region needs support to include loss and damage as a third pillar in the climate finance structure.
Santokhi said next year the country will sign its first national climate agreement that will show a strong commitment to maintaining our forest, prioritizing clean energy, and promoting the integration of climate mitigation and adaptation actions.
“We are building our technical capacity and expertise with the support of international organizations to be effective in preparation, design and implementation,” Santokhi told the COP 27 audience.
CMC/
