Poverty Is An Enemy of the Environment - PM Golding

‘POVERTY' AN ENEMY OF THE ENVIRONMENT.....PM GOLDING TELLS CHOGM:

 Prime Minister Golding told yesterday's  special session  of  the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Port-of-Spain,  Trinidad,  that poverty is an enemy of the environment  and funding must continue to be given towards its  alleviation .

In his contribution to today's special session on Climate Change, Mr Golding said he was encouraged by the statements  by United Nations General Secretary, Ban Ki-Moon; President of France, Nicholas Sarkozy;  President of Denmark Lars Rasmussen, Britain's Prime Minister, Gordon Brown and other leaders, of the urgent need to  combat the problem of climate change. 

Mr Golding said he welcomed a recommendation by the European Union and the UK for a fund of $10 Billion annually over the next three years, to small island developing states to deal with the effects of climate change. However, he said this was a drop in the bucket when compared to the one percent of GDP estimated to be required to finance measures and actions that developing countries must take to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

He emphasized the importance for additional funding and said there should be no reallocation of funds away from other pressing issues affecting developing countries. As much as climate change is an important problem which must be urgently addressed, Mr Golding said, it is not the only problem facing developing countries such as Jamaica.

In her address to the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Meeting this morning, Queen Elizabeth II noted that on the eve of the United Nations summit on Climate Change, the Commonwealth had an opportunity to, once again, take the lead. ‘The threat to our environment is not a new concern. But it is a global challenge which will continue to affect the security and stability of millions for years to come. Many of those affected are among the most vulnerable and many of the people least able to withstand the adverse effects of climate change, live in the Commonwealth', the Queen said.