Patricia Scotland- the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, met with the Minister of Planning and Development of Trinidad and Tobago, Penny Beckles, at COP27 on Monday afternoon.
She took to social media and outlined her number of engagements at COP 27. CSG Patricia Scotland stated that the Minister and she discussed the recent climate change impacts being felt by Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean and the wider Commonwealth, as well as how The Commonwealth’s initiatives are assisting.
She also had a productive meeting with Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Director
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification at COP27 this afternoon, on the power of Commonwealth initiatives, Commonwealth CFAH & Living Lands to help member countries access Climate Finance and promote sustainable land management.
“We agreed about the strength of the two organisations working together and the progress made since signing our MOU at COP26 last year. Many Commonwealth countries are impacted by degradation or drought – together we can help mitigate these impacts,”said the CSG.
She was delighted to meet with Elizabeth M. Mrema, Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity, at COP27. The two organisations, The Commonwealth and United Nations Biodiversity, are working hard to preserve and protect Bio Diversity, specifically moving towards nature based solutions as seen in the Living Lands Charter.
CSG Patricia Scotland pleased to welcome the Prime Minister of Samoa, Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa, to Commonwealth offices at COP27. They agreed that Climate Finance for SIDS, LDCS and nature-based solutions are vital, and discussed how The Commonwealth climate change initiatives could benefit Samoa.
The PM and she also discussed CHOGM2024, which Samoa will host, links between COP and CHOGM, and Commonwealth technical assistance to Samoa, and our wider work on programmes such as Living Lands, Blue Charter and Commonwealth CFAH.
CSG Patricia Scotland pleased to meet the Belize Minister of Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management, Orlando Habet. While they discussed pressing COP27 issues and Commonwealth assistance, the Minister highlighted hurricane season is already hitting Belize and the Caribbean.
She stated that the sad truth is that climate change is not waiting around for when we are ready, it is happening now. Belize, Dominica, The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago and other Commonwealth countries are getting battered right now.
