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COP28 President-Designate visits Barbados, meeting with Prime Minister and leaders of the Caribbean Community to keep focus on reforming climate finance

COP28 President-Designate visits Barbados, meeting with Prime Minister and leaders of the Caribbean Community to keep focus on reforming climate finance

COP28 President-Designate, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, has visited Barbados, meeting with Prime Minister Mia Motley and addressing leaders of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
In his address, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber acknowledged the significant impact climate change has already had on the region and stressed the COP28 Presidency’s vision for a paradigm shift in global efforts to reduce climate change and support regions, like the Caribbean, that are most vulnerable to its impacts.
“The peoples of the Caribbean have been on the front lines of climate change for longer than most. You have been facing some of the harshest climate impacts. And in a very real sense, your experience represents an early warning system for the rest of the world.”

“Last month I laid out the COP28 Presidency’s vision… Fast tracking a just, equitable and orderly energy transition; Fixing climate finance; Focusing on people, lives and livelihoods; And underpinning everything with Full inclusivity.”
“Many of you will be familiar with the global goal I have called for to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030.”
Right here in Barbados, the Bridgetown and Bowmanston Solar Power plants are expected to displace 1000 tons of CO2 and save nearly 400,000 dollars in diesel fuel costs every year.
“Addressing the climate finance gap is so important and why I have made it a key priority for COP28.”
“As a first step, I have called on donor countries to “show me the money”, when it comes to the long overdue 100-billion-dollar finance pledge.”
“I am also calling for deep, system-wide reform of IFIs and MDBs to make them more responsive to the climate and development needs of the 21st century.”
“We need to ensure the right balance between mitigation finance and adaptation finance. This region knows only too well the human and economic costs of too little finance for climate adaptation and resilience.”
“I am calling on all parties to double adaptation finance by 2025 and ensure that a substantial portion of all climate finances goes to adaptation in the future.”

BRIDGETOWN, AUGUST 10, 2023: COP 28 President-Designate Dr. Sultan Al Jaber has visited Barbados to meet with Prime Minister Mia Motley and address distinguished leaders of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). In his speech, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber reaffirmed the COP28 Presidency’s commitment to support communities most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and to push the international community to close the climate finance gap and address social and economic development in-step with climate action.

Dr. Al Jaber said: “The peoples of the Caribbean have been on the front lines of climate change for longer than most. You have been facing some of the harshest climate impacts.

And in a very real sense, your experience represents an early warning system for the rest of the world.”

In his address to CARICOM, the COP28 President-Designate emphasized the critical role climate finance will play in the global energy transition, reminding those present that ‘fixing climate finance’ is one of four of his key ‘Action Plan’ priorities for COP28 alongside ‘focus on people’, ‘lives and livelihoods’ and underpinning everything with ‘full inclusivity’.

“As a first step, I have called on donor countries to “show me the money”, when it comes to the long overdue 100-billion-dollar finance pledge. I am also calling for deep, system-wide reform of IFIs and MDBs to make them more responsive to the climate and development needs of the 21st century. In short, all forms of finance must be more available, more accessible, and more affordable,” added Al Jaber.

Dr. Sultan Al Jaber also praised the work of The Bridgetown Initiative, which he noted was “a wake-up call for the global community to make good on past promises and modernize a financial architecture that was built for the last century.” Spearheaded by Barbados, The Bridgetown Initiative seeks to facilitate access to international financing, an effort that aligns with the COP28 Presidency’s own commitment to modernize global financial infrastructure to support climate action.

In his speech, the COP28 President-Designate also highlighted that Barbados represents “a living example of renewable energy’s potential not only to deliver carbon free power, but to lower energy costs and create new avenues for economic growth.” He noted that the Bridgetown and Bowmanston Solar Power plants are expected to displace 1,000 tons of CO2 and save nearly 400,000 dollars in diesel fuel costs every year. The UAE itself has partnered on carbon and cost-saving projects across 16 Caribbean nations through the Abu Dabi Fund for Development and Masdar. However, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber noted that the cost of capital is proving a stumbling block to progress.

“We all know that the cost of capital has slowed the adoption of renewable energy in this region, alongside many other climate-vulnerable regions of the world. That is why addressing the climate finance gap is so important and why I have made it a key priority for COP28,” Al Jaber added.

Dr. Sultan Al Jaber also warned of the importance of striking the “right balance” between mitigation finance and adaptation finance, noting this will be critical as world leaders begin outlining the parameters for a new, collective goal for finance during COP28, and beyond. “This region knows only too well the human and economic costs of too little finance for climate adaptation and resilience. That’s why I am calling on all parties to double adaptation finance by 2025 and ensure that a substantial portion of all climate finance goes to adaptation in the future,” Dr. Sultan Al Jaber said.

During his visit to Barbados, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber also announced that the UAE will host a meeting of the Independent High-Level Expert Group (IHLEG) on Climate Finance in August. The two-day meeting will bring together world-leading economists, private sector leaders, the COP28 Presidency and the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions and will prepare the ground ahead of COP28, ensuring the event delivers tangible action on international finance reforms.

During his stay in Barbados, the COP28 President-Designate held a bilateral meeting with several other dignitaries, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and the Minister of Energy and Business Development. He also conducted a tour of the island, visiting key ecological sites and climate adaptation projects, including the energy-efficient, hurricane resilient homes of the Home Ownership Providing Energy (HOPE) project and the sea defense installation at Holetown, which is designed to protect the local community from rising sea levels.

Dr. Sultan Al Jaber’s visit to Barbados follows a trip to Brazil, where he delivered remarks at the Amazon Summit and Collaboration for Sustainable Development and urged leaders to build on President Lula’s achievements in reducing deforestation. (PR)

Education

BAC Monitoring Impact Of AI On Higher Education

The Barbados Accreditation Council (BAC) is very closely monitoring the impact that artificial intelligence (AI) is having on higher education institutions (HEIs) in Barbados.

To this end, the Council has been conducting research into the impact of AI so far, and assessing the positive and negative factors and challenges it may present in the future. This relates to both external quality assurance agencies (EQAAs) like itself, and also for the local HEIs it recognises.

Research & Development Officer I with the Council, Jonre Waterman recently made a presentation on the topic: ‘Investigating The Adoption of Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education In Barbados: The Opportunities for Innovation and the Implications for Academic Integrity’.

He made the presentation to delegates in attendance at the 20th Annual Conference and General Meeting of the Caribbean Area Network for Quality Assurance in Tertiary Education (CANQATE).

The conference was hosted by the University Council of Jamaica and held at Pegasus Hotel in Kingston Jamaica under the theme: ‘Twenty Years of Promoting Quality in Higher Education: Development, Impact and Opportunities for a Sustainable Future’.

In his presentation, Mr. Waterman said while there are some noteworthy benefits that come with AI within higher education, from the institutional and academic perspective, the reality is that there are also some challenges for such institutions.

Among the key concerns, he says HEIs will have to ensure that students are not utilising the technology to give the impression that their breadth of knowledge is greater than it really is, whenever they are tasked with turning in reports or doing exams and papers.

“As it relates to the use of the AI-powered technologies…it’s not going anywhere. Global institutions will continue to incorporate AI-powered tools into their teaching and learning process. What this will do is advance the quality of the higher education process and HEIs that fail to address this run the risk of being left behind on the quality curve. This presents a challenge for EQAAs like the BAC as it seeks to assure and enhance the quality of the local higher education space,” he said.

“As it relates to the academic integrity concerns, the biggest fear is the ability of students to subvert the rigour of the academic process in favour of skipping straight to the finishing line and receiving qualifications and awards that do not speak to their actual level of knowledge and understanding.”

Mr. Waterman said a failure of HEIs to respond to this will create a scenario where the quality of the higher education process would be eroded.

He says the BAC has come up with some recommendations to help address its AI-related concerns. “These include conducting assessments to determine the capacity to incorporate emerging technologies such as AI that can improve the quality of educational offerings.

We understand that based on your size and scope, for some institutions there may not be any feasibility for AI-powered or any that would actually provide any significant improvements to your quality…but you can’t just say so without conducting that assessment. So, our recommendation is that you conduct that assessment; then you can determine whether there is any use to the institution, but it must be done first.”

He said another important recommendation is for higher education institutions to assess vulnerabilities of academic integrity to emerging technologies such as AI. He also noted an important recommendation that the Council itself undertake going forward: “Also, as the BAC, there exists scope for us to review our quality standards to ensure that they adequately call upon institutions to address and respond to technological advances.” (PR/GIS)

Uncategorized

Delta Air Lines has resumed its service to Barbados after a seven-year hiatus.

The airline began its non-stop daily service from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to the Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) from Saturday, November 23. Flight DL1985, a Boeing 737 aircraft, captained by Pilot Brent KnoBlach and First Officer Edmund Chianda landed at 3:54 p.m., carrying 160 passengers.

Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Ian Gooding-Edghill, who welcomed the crew and passengers, noted that the return of Delta Air Lines is a “significant development” in the Ministry’s airlift strategy efforts.

He said by the end of 2024, Barbados would count approximately 11 new and reinstated gateways, which reinforces the commercial viability of the island as a tourism attraction.

“Our partnership with Delta Air Lines is vital to expanding gateways across the U.S. and enhancing connectivity to Barbados…. By looking at this resumption of service by Delta Air Lines, this undeniably speaks to the level of confidence that the airline industry has placed in Barbados…. The airline already has 25,000 bookings, and they are anticipating 50,000 to 70,000 within a year,” Minister Gooding-Edghill disclosed.

The Tourism Minister reported that the U.S. continues to be one of Barbados’ leading source markets and shared that up until the end of September 2024, the USA market had eclipsed the United Kingdom’s and is now the leading source market for destination Barbados.

“With Delta, we are sure to continue to see the trend towards increased passenger numbers from the US market to Barbados … and we are confident that with today’s…flight, we will see incremental growth both in the short and long term,” Mr. Gooding-Edghill said.

The Minister said he is “very proud of the Barbados team” for their work in building up the island’s airlift capacity and thanked all those involved in the process.

In addition to Delta’s service out of Atlanta, from December 21, the airline will offer a Saturday-only flight out of New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and will be extending its service through to the summer of 2025.

Delta’s Field Director Caribbean Airport Customer Service, Jennifer Rabun, indicated that the airline was happy to be returning its service to the “beautiful island of Barbados”.

She said the airline is continuously working to expand its reach and make it easier for its customers to explore the world and this service was one such way.

“Today marks not just the launch of a new route but also a testament to Delta’s dedication to serving our customers and connecting communities…. This new service opens up Barbados to customers from over 100 U.S. cities.… This means that our network is not only connecting Atlanta to Barbados, but it’s also linking countless communities across the United States to this sun-soaked destination,” Ms. Rabun emphasised.

She added: “We’re dedicated to ensuring that the future of travel is connected, personalised, and enjoyable. Our people’s genuine and enduring motivation is to make every customer feel welcomed and respected across every point of their journey with us.”

Delta Air Lines has resumed its service to Barbados after a seven-year hiatus.

He said by the end of 2024, Barbados would count approximately 11 new and reinstated gateways, which reinforces the commercial viability of the island as a tourism attraction.

The Minister said he is “very proud of the Barbados team” for their work in building up the island’s airlift capacity and thanked all those involved in the process.

Delta’s Field Director Caribbean Airport Customer Service, Jennifer Rabun, indicated that the airline was happy to be returning its service to the “beautiful island of Barbados”.

She said the airline is continuously working to expand its reach and make it easier for its customers to explore the world and this service was one such way.

Caption: Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Ian Gooding-Edghill (centre) poses for a photograph with Delta Airlines First Officer, Edmund Chianda (left) and Pilot Brent KnoBlach (right), who flew Delta Air Lines Flight DL1985 from Atlanta to Barbados on Saturday, November 23

Environment

Barbados Champions Youth-Led Climate Solutions At COP29 Event

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Senator Dr Shantal Munro-Knight, has underscored the importance of entrusting young people with the responsibility of addressing climate challenges, particularly in small island developing states.

Senator Munro-Knight was speaking during Climate Mobility Youth Day at COP29 in Azerbaijan.

Reflecting on the Government’s youth-focused initiative, the Minister remarked: “We have to trust…our young people. As we challenge them to walk with us, we put our money where our mouth is. Regardless of qualifications, we want to know that they can bring skills, heart, and commitment,” she stated.

She also spoke about this country’s Future Barbados initiative, which was launched in 2018 to empower young Barbadians to solve pressing issues facing the island state.

The initiative calls on Barbadians under 40 years, whether residing locally or abroad, to contribute innovative solutions to challenges such as blue economy sustainability, effective governance, and public health amid the climate crisis.

During the High-Level Session, youth delegates from around the world presented innovative policy ideas, directly engaging with global leaders. The session was a key step towards forming a coalition between the co-hosting governments and young people, aimed at driving forward inclusive and sustainable climate adaptation strategies.

Dr. Munro-Knight also highlighted Barbados’ ongoing commitment to youth development, speaking to scholarship programmes and new opportunities for young leaders to gain expertise and exercise agency in addressing global climate issues.

She expressed confidence that these investments would foster a generation of informed leaders dedicated to bringing their skills back home to support national development.

The success of Climate Mobility Youth Day underscored the critical role of youth engagement in tackling the dual challenges of climate change and human mobility. Barbados’ active participation demonstrated its commitment to empowering the next generation of climate leaders. (PR/GIS)