Antigua and Barbuda will help lead CARICOM’s climate finance negotiations and take responsibility for science talks at COP31, scheduled for Nov. 9–20 in Antalya, Türkiye.

Minister of Health, Wellness, Environment and Civil Service Affairs Michael Joseph is among the ministers selected to lead the regional bloc’s engagement in key negotiating areas.

Joseph will share responsibility for climate finance with Barbados’ Minister for Economic Affairs and Investment Marsha Caddle and Belize’s Minister of Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Solid Waste Management Orlando Habet. He will also lead CARICOM’s engagement on science.

Ahead of the conference, CARICOM ministers called for a balanced, ambitious outcome focused on implementing climate commitments. They said the talks must safeguard the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, advance climate justice and provide support that responds to the special circumstances of small island developing states.

Other negotiating assignments cover adaptation, the conference’s overarching decision, the global stocktake and just transition, loss and damage, and markets.

Dominica and Jamaica will lead on adaptation, while Jamaica and Barbados will handle the overarching decision. St. Kitts and Nevis will lead on the global stocktake and just transition.

Barbados and Saint Lucia will lead loss and damage negotiations, with Belize and Suriname responsible for markets.

CARICOM Ministerial Declaration ahead of the Thirty-First Session of The Conference of The Parties (Cop 31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

CARICOM Ministers who hold responsibility for Climate Change and Sustainable Development have issued a declaration calling on Parties meeting in Antalya, Türkiye, for COP 31 to deliver a balanced, ambitious, and implementation-focused outcome that safeguards the 1.5°C temperature goal, advances climate justice, and provides the means of implementation that responds to the special circumstances of SIDS.

CARICOM Antalya Declaration on Climate Ambition, Adaptation and Resilience

We, the Ministers responsible for Climate Change and Sustainable Development of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), meeting at the One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) on Environment and Sustainable Development in advance of the Thirty-First session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Twenty-First session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol and the Eighth session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement, to be held in Antalya, Türkiye, from 9 to 20 November 2026,

Recalling the UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement; and reaffirming our commitment to limiting global warming to 1.5°C and advancing climate-resilient, low-emission development pathways in a just, equitable, and inclusive manner;

Recalling also, the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) [ABAS]

Underscoring that climate change represents the greatest threat to the sustainable development, prosperity, and security of Caribbean SIDS, and that every fraction of a degree of warming increases the risks to our countries posed by stronger hurricanes, sea-level rise, coastal erosion, biodiversity loss, disruption of livelihoods, and widening social and economic vulnerabilities;

Recognising that climate impacts are compounded by insecurity, humanitarian crises and institutional fragility, and emphasizing the need for context-sensitive implementation arrangements for countries facing overlapping crises;

Affirming that the ecological transition offers an opportunity to mobilise productive investment and accelerate economic transformation and resilient prosperity across the Caribbean;

Deeply concerned that the world remains off track to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, that an overshoot of the 1.5°C limit is now likely within the next few years, and that growing geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, conflicts, and competing global crises are diverting attention and resources away from urgently needed climate action;

Alarmed by the escalating losses and damages already being experienced across the Caribbean, which continue to erase decades of development gains, exacerbate debt burdens, constrain fiscal space, and undermine efforts to achieve sustainable development;

Acknowledging that adaptation is a matter of survival for Caribbean peoples and that substantial gaps persist between our adaptation and resilience needs and the financial resources currently available for SIDS; and concerned by persistent constraints that the Caribbean faces to access official development assistance, and sustained, predictable, adequate and additional climate finance, on time, at scale and on terms that are affordable and do not deepen debt vulnerabilities;

Recognising the vital role of forests in addressing climate change and safeguarding biodiversity, including their contribution to carbon sequestration, ecosystem integrity, water security, and the livelihoods and resilience of local, tribal and Indigenous communities.

Emphasising the importance of mobilising adequate, predictable and accessible financing for forest conservation, restoration and sustainable management, and strengthening synergies between climate action, biodiversity protection and nature-positive development, in support of the objectives of the Rio Conventions and the global biodiversity agenda.

Welcoming recent international courts’ advisory opinions and other legal developments that affirm States’ obligations to protect the climate system, and recalling the finding by the International Court of Justice (the Court) that the Parties to the Paris Agreement are under an obligation to act to achieve the primary temperature goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, and that the customary duty to prevent significant harm to the environment applies to the climate system;

Recalling further that the Court found that cooperation on climate change “is not a matter of choice for States but a pressing need and a legal obligation”;

Declaring that it is morally and legally unacceptable for SIDS to continue to bear a severely disproportionate burden of the adverse impacts of climate change while being the least contributors and the most vulnerable to those impacts;

Underscoring that meaningful progress at COP 31 must deliver ambitious outcomes that respond to the special circumstances of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in this era of overshoot and increasing loss and damage.

We therefore call upon Parties meeting in Antalya to deliver a balanced, ambitious, and implementation-focused COP 31 outcome that safeguards the 1.5°C temperature goal, advances climate justice, and provides the means of implementation that responds to the SIDS special circumstances, including through the following commitments:

Upholding the 1.5°C Goal

Reaffirm that limiting global warming to 1.5°C remains the central objective of the Paris Agreement and the benchmark against which global climate ambition must be measured. We call for urgent action to limit the magnitude and duration of any exceedance of this goal and to return to below 1.5°C as soon as possible. We call once again upon all Parties, particularly major emitters, to strengthen their climate commitments and implement rapid, sustained and meaningful emissions reductions consistent with pathways that align with the 1.5°C temperature goal. We further urge the timely submission and implementation of ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), taking into account the 2023 UAE Consensus (COP 28), the best available science and the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

We re-confirm the centrality of the best available science and traditional knowledge in informing the global climate response, and in assessing that response against the 1.5°C benchmarked goals of the Paris Agreement. We call for the alignment of the seventh assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change with the second Global Stocktake (2027-2028).

Strengthening Adaptation and Resilience

Recognise adaptation is imperative for the sustainable development of the Caribbean. We call for urgent implementation of the Global Goal on Adaptation including its indicators. We further call on developed countries to fulfil their commitments to provide predictable and adequate support for adaptation efforts in SIDS and to provide a credible transparent implementation pathway towards the tripling of adaptation finance by 2035. We also reiterate our call for urgent scaling up of adaptation finance and enhanced support for the implementation of National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and resilience-building measures.

Addressing Loss and Damage

Affirm that Loss and Damage is a distinct and critical pillar of climate action and the global response must be commensurate with the SIDS realities. We express concern that the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (the Fund) has not kept pace with our dire needs. We urge that the Fund should uphold its responsibilities and call therefore for its effective operationalisation and full capitalisation to enable timely and adequate assistance to vulnerable countries.

Delivering Climate Finance and other means of implementation

Stress that climate finance remains the cornerstone of effective climate action and is critical for the implementation of our NDCs and NAPs. Acknowledge that effective operationalisation of Article 6 market mechanisms with robust environmental and accounting standards can also contribute to the mobilisation of means of implementation for efficient and ambitious climate action. We call for a credible pathway to implement the new collective quantified goal, including the mobilisation of at least US$300 billion annually by 2035 and the scaling up of climate finance to US$1.3 trillion per year, and for the operationalisation of its provisions on easing access and prioritising grant and concessionary finance for SIDS. We stress as a priority achieving simplified access procedures across climate funds, dedicated funding windows and minimum allocation for SIDS, and financing arrangements that do not exacerbate our debt burdens or constrain our fiscal space. We further emphasize the need for the operationalisation of Article 6 market mechanisms in a manner that is inclusive of SIDS. We also call for increased support for SIDS-specific innovations and technologies that strengthen adaptation, resilience, mitigation efforts, and sustainable development outcomes.

Protecting Oceans and Coastal Communities

Recognise the fundamental importance of the ocean to the economies, cultures, food security, livelihoods and sustainable development of Caribbean people. We call for enhanced support and financing for ocean-based climate action, in line with our NDCs and NAPs.

Advancing a Just Transition for Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

Affirm that a just transition for SIDS must promote sustainable development, strengthen energy security, support economic diversification, create decent jobs, and enhance resilience. We call for adequate means of implementation, including climate finance, technology transfer and capacity-building, to ensure that all countries can pursue transition pathways that are equitable, inclusive, and responsive to national circumstances.

Strengthening Multilateralism and International Cooperation

Reaffirm our confidence in the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement as the primary multilateral frameworks for addressing climate change. We welcome recent international legal developments that reinforce the obligations of States to protect the climate system and support vulnerable populations. We reiterate that effective international cooperation remains both a moral imperative and a shared responsibility and is essential for achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement.

COMMITMENT

We reaffirm CARICOM’s commitment to unity, cooperation, and active engagement through the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), the Group of 77 and China, and all other relevant partnerships to secure ambitious outcomes at COP 31 that advance climate resilience, sustainable development, and the wellbeing of present and future generations.

This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: Antigua and Barbuda to help lead CARICOM climate finance and science negotiations at COP31.