Photo: Prime Minister, Hon. Phillip J. Pierre, Saint Lucia. Retrieved from thevoiceslu.com
PRIME Minister Hon. Philip J. Pierre, currently serving as the spokesperson for climate change in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), is set to attend COP28, the 28th annual United Nations climate meeting, scheduled in Dubai, UAE. Prime Minister Pierre will attend COP28 from November 30 to December 5th, 2023.
COP, short for “Conference of the Parties,” convenes nations that committed to the original UN climate agreement in 1992. This summit holds immense significance as leaders gather to discuss strategies to limit and prepare for the imminent challenges of climate change.
The primary focus of COP28 is to uphold the collective commitment made in Paris in 2015, aiming to restrict long-term global temperature rises to 1.5°C. This target is paramount in mitigating the severe impacts of climate change, as emphasized by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) or the situation will worsen.
Although the rise in global temperature from pre-industrial times is now estimated to be between 1.1 °C and 1.2°C, new forecasts suggest that temperatures could rise by 2.4°C to 2.7°C by the year 2100. As the window for accomplishing this objective is fast shrinking, the UN emphasizes the significance of maintaining the 1.5°C limit.