The two-day SEForAll Global Forum opened yesterday with a call to action for delegates to deliver meaningful results for the people who depend on them.
This call to action came from Minister of Energy and Business, Senator Lisa Cummins, during the opening of the forum at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre. She said the road, from the creation of SEForAll, to COP in Paris to COP in Rio this year, has been paved with promises that need to be met, and deliverables that must be accomplished.
“And the time to change must begin with us right here, right now, in this moment, and not a moment later. So, this is a call to action for all of us,” Senator Cummins stated.
The Minister noted that oftentimes countries sit at the table but feel they were not heard. She expressed the view that the concerns of small island developing states (SIDS), Africa, the developing world and the global south must be given the urgency required, and stressed that they must be seen and heard.
She pointed out that issues relating to climate and financing would be discussed over the next two days, and said they were legitimate conversations that must be had.
Senator Cummins continued: “How do we, over the next two days, map a pathway to an energy transition that accelerates access to affordable financing to SIDS and all the developing economies? How do we look at the issues of bankability, availability of financing and balancing the important needs of our people, who, across the globe, have said to us they feel excluded, but they need to be included.
“They feel disenfranchised, but they need to be enfranchised. They feel as though they don’t have empowerment but need to be empowered. How do we walk away from here on Thursday evening with a supporting framework that creates bridges from the African continent, [and] the Pacific region, to hear us in the Caribbean in meaningful ways that support research and development, innovation, sustainability, investment, inclusion, affordable financing and new mechanisms that make people the centre of an energy transition?”
Senator Cummins reminded her audience that small island developing states were on the frontline of several crises – climate, debt, development, sustainability, vulnerability and invisibility.
The SEForAll Global Forum ends today. (PR/GIS)
