PM BROWNE TO CALL FOR EQUITABLE FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS AT SUMMIT

Report filed by Jamie J. Roacher – News Reporter

More now on a story we have been closely tracking…
Prime Minister the Hon. Gaston Browne will call for equitable rules for climate-vulnerable countries when he addresses a summit of 40 world leaders next week.
Prime Minister Browne says a multi-dimensional vulnerability index should replace the per capita income criterion, which labels some vulnerable countries as wealthy based on past data.

He says this leads to international financial institutions denying grants and concessional loans to climate-vulnerable countries such as Antigua & Barbuda.
The index the Prime Minister is proposing would consider several vulnerability aspects to determine access to concessional financing.

Antigua and Barbuda’s head of government is one of two leaders from the Caribbean invited by US President Joe Biden to the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate; Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness is the other Caribbean invitee.
The forum will underscore the urgency and economic benefits of more robust climate action.
It will be a crucial milestone on the road to the United Nations Climate Change Conference or COP26 this November in Glasgow.