United States President Joe Biden has invited two Caribbean prime ministers to his “Leaders Summit on Climate” to take place virtually at the White House on April 22 and 23.
A White House statement said Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister, Gaston Browne and his Jamaican counterpart, Andrew Holness, were invited to the summit among 40 world leaders.
The Whitehouse noted that President Biden “took action” his first day in office to return the United States to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change Days later, on Jan. 27, 2021.
He announced that he would soon convene a leaders summit “to galvanize efforts by the major economies to tackle the climate crisis.”
The US president said the “Leaders Summit on Climate” would underscore the urgency and the economic benefits of stronger climate action.
“It will be a key milestone on the road to the United Nations Climate Change Conference this November in Glasgow, Scotland,” according to the statement.
The White House statement said key themes of the summit will include galvanizing efforts by the world’s major economies to reduce emissions during this “critical decade” to keep a limit to warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius within reach; and mobilizing public and private sector finance to drive the net-zero transition and to help vulnerable countries cope with climate impact.
In a response to the Climate Summit invitation, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister, Browne said he intends to make “a robust contribution on behalf of the CARICOM countries” when he participates.
He welcomed the invitation to participate in the summit, to make the case for small states everywhere.
