Climate Change supported at Summit by Premier & Attorney General

By Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicos, April 26, 2022 – “This government is committed to working with its partners including our utilities to ensure that we have an escalated pace towards creating green energy.”

That was Premier Washington Misick’s promise at the recently concluded TCI Climate Change summit.

The Premier put his full support behind the fight against climate change acknowledging that the process was slow because they wanted to get it right, but still insisted,

“We will be investing huge sums of money to improve and clean up informal settlements.”

The Premier also referenced Bajan Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s COP 26 speech saying, “When she spoke about these issues she put it in the context of climate justice because while small island states are the first to be impacted we’ve had very little to do with what has happened. She made it very clear while we are threatened we don’t have the resources to adequately deal with those threats.”

The TCI Attorney General, Rhondalee Brathwaite Knowles highlighted the legal environmental efforts implemented in the Turks and Caicos noting that the government had employed tangible measures to positively combat climate changes. She highlighted the single-use plastic ban and the ban on used tyres and some used cars which she said aimed to,

“Reduce TCI’s waste going to landfills, land and marine pollution and reduce the TCIs contribution to climate change.”

Brathwaite Knowles, QC noted that these efforts were in line with section 18 of the TCI Constitution which mandates the government to “in all their decisions To have the regard due regard to the need to foster and protect an environment that is not harmful to the health or wellbeing to the health of present or future generations.”

The attorney general also explained the key principles behind the climate change charter some of which included,   “to recognize that climate change affects all people and the environment, to recognize the climate change populations disproportionately…And to recognize the effects of irreversible impacts.”

These principles she said would help us adjust and prepare for future climate emergencies should they occur.