The prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda said on November 20 that developed countries have an obligation to help Caribbean island countries as they are “suffering disproportionately from the effects of climate change.”
Speaking in New York ahead of a CARICOM-UN High-Level Pledging Conference, Prime Minister Gaston Alfonso Browne addressed reporters, saying: “We are the injured party. We are not the ones who are emitting these greenhouse gases into the earth’s atmosphere. In fact, the level of emissions coming out of the Caribbean collectively would be less than 0.1 percent of total global emissions. That means therefore that the developed countries have an obligation to assist.”
Hurricane Irma ravaged the dual-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda in early September, and Browne said he estimated the total cost of recovery would exceed $220 million. Credit: UN via Storyful
