By Sherrica Thompson

Staff Writer

#Bermuda, April 26, 2022 – Deputy Premier and Minister of Home Affairs of Bermuda, Walter Roban, is urging island states, especially British Oversea Territories, to devote the same enthusiasm they have crafting development proposals and opportunities for international investors to environmental investment and protection internally and internationally.

In giving his remarks at the Turks and Caicos Islands’ first Climate Change Conference, on April 22, in celebration of Earth Day, the Deputy Premier highlighted the effects and impacts of climate change on small islands such as Bermuda and the TCI, noting that small island states and other developing nations are at the forefront of the impacts of climate change, and this is something that cannot be underestimated. As a result, he said we (island states) must have robust regulatory frameworks, particularly for environmental protection.

“Bermuda has done a lot of work on that and is happy to share that further with the TCI and other islands. We’ve had environmental protection since the 1600s, so we have a history of it, and we have been, even in the last couple of decades, doing a lot to enhance legislative protections and also enforcement,” said Minister Roban.

Roban also encouraged that it is important for island states to ensure that they have robust regulatory frameworks around the energy sector as well and island states should seek outside investments in this sector.

“We must also look to encourage outside investments in the green technologies, solar, wind, ocean technologies and have a coordinated strategic approach to climate change around these technologies and to effectively device and implement dynamic overarching plans that will mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change,” said Roban.

As a result of the work that Bermuda has done over the years where climate change is concerned, the country was able to secure funding from the United Kingdom government to conduct an exhaustive climate study that will undertake a vulnerability assessment of Bermuda’s major infrastructure, such as its airport, ports, public highways, electricity generation, subterranean, utility and communications framework, waste and energy plant and swage management systems.

The study, Roban explained, will be about the impact of climate change on the island of Bermuda. He further explained that the study is expected to make predictions with the projection timeline for best and worse climate case scenarios for the short, medium, and long term. When completed, it will allow Bermuda to project how the areas conducted in the study will impact the country for 50 to 100 years.

Minister Roban emphasised that these are the sort of projections that island states need to have and understand to be able to contemplate their decision making and encouraged small island states in the region to conduct studies like these, even if it requires them to work together to do so.

“Small island states in the region, if you are unable to pursue these studies individually, you can jointly support such studies together. These are one of the ways that we can work together instead of taking on the full investment of those exhaustive studies on our own, and we can create a pool of resources that will allow us to benefit from the results of those studies,” explained the Deputy Premier.

He said island states should share these studies so others can benefit.

“We must share the outcomes of these studies with each other because whatever Bermuda learns about what’s happening in Bermuda can benefit the Turks and Caicos Islands, the British Virgin Islands, and others,” said Roban.

Roban also encouraged island states to take advantage of other opportunities that exist that afford a study of their territories.

“I also encourage you to benefit from academia; academia is often keen to come into our territory and work with us to complete these studies and sometimes they’ll do it themselves without any financial commitment because it is a part of building their own resource base,” said the Deputy Premier.

He added that: “academia, international organizations, and research institutions are out there who want to work with us to study and do these studies, pursue, investigate, and invite them in on terms that are mutually beneficial to you.”

The Home Affairs Minister also noted that it is important for island states to become strong voices in the campaign for climate action and “become our own advocate in the fight for climate change. We as overseas territories must work together.