Belmopan. October 28, 2021. 4:10 p.m.
The Prime Minister of Belize, Hon. John Briceño will lead a delegation to the Twenty-sixth Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom.
Hon. John Briceño will be attending the World Leaders Summit, from October 31 to November 3, where he will deliver a national statement on behalf of the people of Belize highlighting the impact of climate change on the country and the need for increased financing for small island developing states like Belize to increase adaptation to climate change.
On the margins of the Summit, Prime Minister Briceño and his delegation will hold bilateral meetings with heads of state of Norway, Finland, Canada, Switzerland, and the Dominican Republic, among others, as well as host discussions with key agencies such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), and the Adaptation Fund.
Other members of the Prime Minister’s delegation will include Hon. Eamon Courtenay, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Immigration; Hon. Christopher Coye, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Investment, and Economic Development; Hon. Magali Marin Young, Attorney General; and Ambassador Stuart Leslie, Cabinet Secretary and Chief of Staff.
Hon. Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management, will lead the remainder of Belize’s delegation through the sessional and high-level political negotiations from November 3 to 13. The delegation will include Hon. Andre Perez, Minister of Blue Economy and Civil Aviation; Kennedy Carrillo, CEO in the ministry; Beverly Wade, Director of Blue Economy; Dr. Osmond Martinez, CEO in the Ministry of Economic Development; and technical representatives from the National Climate Change Office.
COP26 will be critical for Belize as the Prime Minister and delegates will address the following:
- Defend and negotiate Belize’s position in key areas of transparency, adaptation, loss and damage, and finance.
- Scale-up Belize’s leadership role in international groupings and negotiating blocks through lobbying for a leadership role in global climate change negotiations.
- Leverage financing to support Belize’s adaptation to the impacts of climate change in key sectors such as agriculture, tourism, blue economy, biodiversity and protected areas management, and energy.
Members of Belize’s media pool will also be present at the conference in Glasgow and will be providing daily updates on the negotiations to the Belizean public.
Belize’s delegation is being funded through partnership with the United Nations Development Program, the REDD+ Project, the Biodiversity Finance Initiative, the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan), the Protected Areas Conservation Trust, and the EnGenDer Project.
COP26 is one of the most important international world conferences, especially post-COVID. It serves as an opportunity to take advantage of the billions of dollars in development assistance that will be available for countries like Belize that are leaders in addressing climate change mitigation and adaptation, which remains a challenge to national sustainable development.
Ends
