TCI Minister Connolly announces a Commitment to Climate Change

By Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicos, April 26, 2022 – “We are among the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change with rising sea levels and yet our voices are not heard nor our concerns noted.”

This reality and the possibility of serious irreversible damage highlighted after COP 26 is what pushed Tourism Minister, Josephine Connolly to bring the TCI Climate Change Summit to fruition and after the summit Minister Connolly says she and the TCI, are committed to action.

“What comes after is action as we commit to some urgent and direct initiatives,” she said. “Initiatives to move quickly where we can, and where we need more time we need to set some hard targets which might be over a longer period but must be pursued relentlessly.”

Connolly hit the nail on the head with her statements emphasizing the need for action now in an address reminiscent of Mia Mottley’s own appeal to the countries gathered at COP 26, the very event which inspired the TCI Climate Change Summit.

“Climate change is an abstract concept to many of us, one that we hear about all too often and yet do not always appreciate the implications of… The reality of the threat, the loss and damage that we face as a territory comprised of low lying islands struck a chord within me.” She explained.

In the Turks and Caicos where land space is a constant issue, Connolly said the Government should begin to assess the compliance of developments to the climate change charter before granting any licenses. She also called for a target to be set this year for the TCI to graduate from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

The Minister at the Summit held at the Shore Club, Long Bay Beach noted that these targets had to be fixed and supported with realistic plans insisting that conversation and collaboration were key to ensuring a resilient region and effective representation on a global platform.

In attendance:  His Excellency, Nigel Dakin, TCI Governor; Hon Washington Misick, TCI Premier; Hon E. Jay Saunders, Deputy Premier; Hon Rachel Taylor, Minister of Education; Hon Otis Morris, Minister of Home Affairs; Hon Rhondalee Braithwaite-Knowles, TCI Attorney General; Lormeka Williams, Director of the Department of Environment and Coastal Resources and CherylAnn Jones, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Tourism and Ruth Forbes, President and CEO of FortisTCI and in the visiting delegates:  Hon. Walter Rohan, Deputy Premier and Minister for Home Affairs for Bermuda; Hon. Christopher Famous, Member of Parliament and CARICOM Representative in Bermuda and Hon. Vincent Wheatley Minister of Natural Resources, Immigration and Labour for the British Virgin Islands.