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STORY: ANTIGUA / SIDS CONFERENCE ADVANCER
TRT: 6:00
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 01 MAY 2024, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – 10 TO 18 APRIL 2024, DOMINICA
1. Various shots, coastline
2. Close up, bird
3. Med shot, waterfall
FILE – 7 APRIL 2024, MATURA BEACH, TRINIDAD
4. Drone shot, beach
01 MAY 2024, NEW YORK CITY
5. Wide shot, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Gaston Browne at the interview
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda:
“Fundamentally, we want to make sure that we, improve the living standards of people living in SIDs to ensure sustainability so that these countries are not as susceptible to the impact of these climate shocks. Evidently it cannot be done alone because SIDS has a very limited, financial and human resources. So we'll be galvanizing support from various stakeholders, the international community, to include the international financial institutions, obviously developed countries, to make sure that we can raise enough resources to help us to adapt and to mitigate against the effects of climate change, while at the same time, you know, building out more prosperous communities so that people too can enjoy, acceptable living standards.”
FILE – 10 TO 18 APRIL 2024, DOMINICA
7. Various shots, coral reefs
01 MAY 2024, NEW YORK CITY
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda:
“The key issue is funding, and I'd say technology to some extent, you find it, some of the cutting-edge technologies that are available, we don't have access to them, and primarily because we don't have the funding. So everything comes back to funding. And that is why we continue to advocate for increase funding for SIDS, funding and for adaptation, funding for mitigation and even funding for loss and damage.”
FILE – 15 APRIL 2024, NEAR ROSEAU, DOMINICA
8. Drone shot, jungle
FILE – 15 APRIL 2024, KALINAGO TERRITORY
9. Various shots, kalinago community
01 MAY 2024, NEW YORK CITY
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda:
“A low carbon future is an imperative for us. First of all, the vagaries and instability associated with fossil fuel prices would have created serious challenges for us. And, I can tell you, in the case of Antigua and Barbuda, we actually moving away from fossil fuels, and we are transitioning into green technologies, including, solar and wind. We have even utilized LNG as a transition fuel as we seek to reduce our carbon footprint. And to I would say, having to reduce by about 30 percent, within the next few years, 50 percent by 2030 and ultimately to become carbon neutral by about 2040. I'm of the view, too, that, you know, small States, including Antigua and Barbuda, we have to lead by example, so making that transition, is important to encourage the large users of fossil fuels, those who use fossil fuels in a very profligate way for them to follow a lead and to reduce emissions, because ultimately, the issue of the use of fossil fuels, it goes beyond the issue of small States, it is about human survivability. It's about protecting our planet. And this is where we need global collaboration, global cooperation to ensure that we all commit to reducing emissions to get it down to an accepted the levels so that we do not have an overshoot of the 1.5 degrees.”
FILE – 8 APRIL 2024, NEAR ROSEAU, DOMINICA
7. Various shots, hurricane damage
FILE -
01 MAY 2024, NEW YORK CITY
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda:
“We hope to have an outcome document that will chart of course stewards with resilient prosperity. We would have mobilized the international community to get buy in and pretty sure that the various issues that have affected small States, issues of climate, debt, pandemics, that even the consequences of wars, for example, that would be dealt with in a very holistic way, and that we'll come up with strategies to help SIDS to mitigate against these issues that continue to undermine our development and ultimately, to make sure that we have more prosperous societies and that we all achieve resilient prosperity.”
FILE – 14 APRIL 2024, NEAR ROSEAU DOMINICA
8. Various shots, sperm whale
FILE - TO 18 APRIL 2024, DOMINICA
10. Various shots, natural shots
FILE – 07-09 APRIL 2024, TRINIDAD
11. Various shots, urban life
Ahead of the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Gaston Browne said, “we want to make sure that we improve the living standards of people living in SIDs, to ensure sustainability so that these countries are not as susceptible to the impact of climate shocks.”
In an interview in New York, Prime Minister Browne reiterated that the main issue for successful climate adaptation for small island developing States is funding and the access to technology.
He said, “we'll be galvanizing support from various, stakeholders, the international community, to include the international financial institutions, obviously developed countries, to make sure that we can raise enough resources to help us to adapt and to mitigate against the effects of climate change, while at the same time, you know, building out more prosperous communities so that people too can enjoy, acceptable living standards.”
On fossil fuel, Prime Minister Browne highlighted, “A low carbon future is an imperative for us.”
He continued, “First of all, the vagaries and instability associated with fossil fuel prices would have created serious challenges for us.”
The Prime Minister said that in the case of Antigua and Barbuda, the country is moving away from fossil fuels, and is transitioning into green technologies, including solar and wind.
“We have even utilized LNG (Liquefied natural gas) as a transition fuel as we seek to reduce our carbon footprint. And to, I would say, having it reduce by about 30 percent within the next few years, 50 percent by 2030 and ultimately to become carbon neutral by about 2040,” he added.
The Prime Minister also state that small States, including Antigua and Barbuda “have to lead by example,” to encourage the large users of fossil fuels, “those who use fossil fuels in a very profligate way for them to follow a lead and to reduce emissions, because ultimately, the issue of, the use of fossil fuels, it goes beyond the issue of small States.”
“It is about human survivability. It's about protecting our planet. And this is where we need global collaboration, global cooperation to ensure that we all commit to reducing emissions to get it to an accepted the levels so that we do not have an overshoot of the 1.5 degrees,” Prime Minister Browne added.
On the expectation of the outcome of the conference, he said, “on the various issues that have affected small States, issues of climate, debt, pandemics, that even the consequences of wars, for example, that would be dealt with in a very holistic way, and that we'll come up with strategies to help SIDS to mitigate against these issues that continue to undermine our development and ultimately, to make sure that we have more prosperous societies and that we all achieve resilient prosperity.”
The Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4) will be held from 27 to 30 May 2024 in St John’s, Antigua and Barbuda.
Under the overarching theme of “Charting the course toward resilient prosperity", the Conference will aim at assessing the ability of SIDS to achieve sustainable development, including the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals. It will result in an intergovernmentally agreed, focused, forward-looking and action-oriented political outcome document.
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) comprise 37 UN member nations and 20 associate members of regional commissions.
