LOOP CARIBBEAN- The death and destruction caused by Hurricane Beryl in Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Jamaica has strengthened Antigua and Barbuda’s quest for vulnerable nations to be compensated for natural disasters caused by climate change.
During today’s post-cabinet media briefing, Lionel Hurst, Chief of Staff at the Prime Minister’s Office, echoed sentiments expressed by regional leaders, asserting the injustice of holding Antigua and Barbuda and other small states accountable for damage caused by the industralisation of larger and wealthier nations.
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“Our countries are not responsible for these vicious and ferocious storms that develop into category four and category five because of warm seas and heightened ambient temperatures. We are not responsible for it because we don’t spill into the atmosphere billions of tons of unwanted gases and particulate matter like the developed countries that have been involved in the industrial revolution for in excess of a century,” he said in response to a question from Loop News.
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“And they’re the ones who have caused the changes to come about in our weather patterns and in climate. We say that we have established a loss and damage fund into which they ought to pour millions of dollars so that the harm that they have caused can cause us in turn to recover quickly and not have to go cap in hand to the United Nations to arrange for a pledging conference with the hope that they will indeed pledge some resources to enable us to recover quickly.”
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The fight for climate justice is nothing new to Antigua and Barbuda as Hurst noted former Prime Minister Lester Bird was at the forefront of efforts for the World Bank to create the Catastrophic Insurance Fund.
When asked if Hurricane Beryl taught Antigua and Barbuda any new lessons, Hurst said it highlighted the severe impact that one storm can have on a country.
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“There are no new lessons to be learned from it (Beryl). But clearly, whenever these hurricanes cause us to have to close our airport, close the seaport, shut down the hotels because they’re on the beaches and so on, that’s a disruption from which not very many lessons are learned, except the lesson of safety, because first and foremost, we want to be sure that there are no deaths,” he said.
Hurst added that Antigua and Barbuda remains ready to help its neighbours in their time of need and has already sent aid such as food, water and other emergency supplies to Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
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