CSG Patricia Scotland meets Saint Lucia Education Minister- Shawn Edwards

Patricia Scotland- the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, held a fruitful discussion with the Minister for Education, Sustainable Development, Innovation, Science, Technology and Vocational Training of Saint Lucia, Shawn Edward, during COP27 about recent climate threats faced by Saint Lucia.

CSG Patricia Scotland meets Saint Lucia Education Minister- Shawn Edwards
CSG Patricia Scotland meets Saint Lucia Education Minister- Shawn Edwards Photo Credits: Patricia Scotland Facebook Page

Patricia Scotland– the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, held a fruitful discussion with the Minister for Education, Sustainable Development, Innovation, Science, Technology and Vocational Training of Saint Lucia, Shawn Edward, during COP27 about recent climate threats faced by Saint Lucia.

They spoke about Commonwealth assistance to unlock climate finance, harness data and build capacity to tackle climate change impacts in Saint Lucia through Commonwealth CFAH.

Climate change is an existential threat to the Commonwealth’s small and most vulnerable countries. She reiterated The Commonwealth’s continued support towards building climate resilience in and the whole Caribbean region.

In the margins of COP27, CSG Patricia Scotland also met with Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu, Minister for Uganda Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development.

Interesting to hear how Uganda is working towards sustainable energy and accessing climate finance. They discussed how The Commonwealth’s Commonwealth CFAH and Commonwealth CSET initiatives could assist.

CSG Patricia Scotland expressed delight to launch The Commonwealth’s ‘The State of Digital Agriculture in the Commonwealth’ Report at COP27. The report comes at a critical time as food insecurity is on the rise. This Connectivity Agenda report uses data to inform members of the state of digital agriculture.

This is a groundbreaking report, as there are hundreds of successful cases of digital innovations operating across the Commonwealth, but up to now, it has been difficult to document, partly because no baseline exists. The Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda has created one.

At COP27, Professor Lee White CBE and she met to discuss ongoing support for one of the Commonwealth’s newest members, Gabon. Exciting to hear how Gabon is protecting the environment and how the country and The Commonwealth can work together to build a mutually beneficial relationship on climate.

CSG Patricia Scotland expressed pleasure to meet the #Mauritius Minister of Environment, Solid Waste Management and #ClimateChange, Kavydass Ramano, this morning at #COP27.

They discussed The Commonwealth’s support to Mauritius through the Commonwealth CFAH, Living Lands, Connectivity Agenda and Blue Charter.

The Minister and she also discussed the upcoming #Commonwealth Law Ministers Meeting (CLMM) next week in Mauritius. Robust legal frameworks and policies are vital in combating climate change, easing access to climate finance and implementing climate action initiatives.

UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell, and she had a productive conversation on how our two organizations, UNFCCC and The Commonwealth, can deliver on our MoU and implement climate action for Commonwealth member countries through the Commonwealth CFAH and access to climate finance.