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I n 2022, major Western oil On the other hand, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade said developed countries have yet to contribute the US$100 billion a year that was promised at the Conference of the Parties 2022 (COP15) to finance climate action and that should have taken effect in 2020. He said developing countries face companies made a record $219 billion in profit while a Saudi Arabian oil giant reported US$161.1 billion in net profit for the same year. countless challenges in their push to adopt climate-friendly measures. For Barbados, accessing the required technology was problematic and the cost to fully transition to being fossil fuel-free and renewable energy- driven was immense. “There is no priority given to small states and that puts us in a significant degree of risk of double jeopardy. We are the ones on whose blood, sweat and tears the industrial revolution was created. We cannot now be asked to carry the cost of the correction of the greenhouse gas emissions created as a result of that industrial revolution.” Professor Persaud said with climate conditions worsening, the people of this and other regions cannot afford to wait for the debate on climate change to peter out. “We have focused on the things that can be done today that will impact the climate, that are ambitious and achievable, that would change global finance, that would
Host and Professor of Finance at The UWI, Cave Hill Justin Robinson said the Bridgetown Initiative was possibly “one of the most significant policy initiatives coming out of the Caribbean with impact on the global stage” . The proposal was also lauded by Sir Hilary as being consistent with the economic thinking that has emerged in the region and one which was enrooted in the economics of the university. The initiative proposes a three-pronged approach to financing climate change adaptation and resilience: adjusting the terms of loans and how they are repaid; expansion of multilateral lending to governments by US$1 trillion; and implementing a mechanism for the private sector to help fund climate mitigation and reconstruction. “ It is only fair that if we’re trying to talk about adaptation and climate resilience that we also have the private sector and private enterprise [involved], in circumstances where companies are making unprecedented and what could really be called egregious profits. [They should] leave some of the profits on the table to assist the planet in making the adjustment. The simple moral message is ‘If there is no planet, there can be no profits’,” Symmonds said.
Professor Justin Robinson Professor of Corporate Finance & Pro Vice-Chancellor, Academic - Industry Partnerships and Planning
The Honourable Kerrie Symmonds Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Barbados
Professor Avinash Persaud Special Envoy to the Prime Minister of Barbados for Investment and Financial Services
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