Grenada is urging world leaders and the leaders of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to contribute more funds to fill the gap needed to reach the targets of the SDGs. Foreign Affairs Minister Elvin Nimrod explained three structural problems that inhibit climate action for Caribbean and the Pacific, nations that he said must be the lead advocates on ocean and climate change.
Classification of Grenada as an Upper Middle Income country restricts its access to concessionary financing for investment into renewable energy projects. Coupled with dependency on fossil fuels and exposure to global price fluctuations, it is difficult for SIDS to harness existing opportunities for renewable energy development. Minister Nimrod called on the international community to support Grenada and other SIDS on innovative approaches to international climate financing, which would include catalyzing private investment.
Approximately US$2.5 trillion is needed per year for the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Thus during the UN General Assembly’s 71st session, the Minister called on member states to deposit their instruments of ratification to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change by the end of 2016; and to pursue the 2030 UN agenda with “alacrity and tenacity.”
Grenada has been leading the charge for oceanic conversation, hosting Blue Week 2016 and encouraging other Caribbean countries to maintain their commitments to conserve and manage 20 percent of the regional marine and coastal environment by 2020. Minister Nimrod stated: “The natural capital of the ocean is like the principal deposit of an interest-bearing bank account … instead of living off the interest, we have been drawing from the principal.”
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