Taiwan Assists with Regional Nationally Determined Contribution Forum

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Government of Taiwan (R.O.C.) Embassy in Saint Lucia has assisted the Department of Sustainable Development in hosting the first ever Regional Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) Investment Forum. The Forum is expected to bring together OECS Ministers, investors, development partners, representatives of regional institutions and technical experts drawn from relevant ministries and sectors from across the OECS and wider Caribbean Community to focus on opportunities to mobilise financial support for, and catalyse investment in NDC implementation in the region.

The forum will take place on October 11th and 12th following the second annual Regional NDC Dialogue also to be held in Saint Lucia from October 8th – 10th, 2018. The contribution made by the Government of Taiwan (R.O.C.) will assist in the implementation of the Forum programme planning and will provide enhancement to NDC implementation in the region.

Minister Rigobert remarked that, “climate change knows no boundaries, ethnicity, class, race, or national jurisdiction. Everyone in every part of the world is affected. Sustainable Development Goal 17 speaks to the need for partnership and this collaboration is a clear example of needed partnership amongst countries in the fight against climate change”.

Mr. Crispin d’Auvergne of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Commission emphasised that the purpose of the NDC Forum is to accelerate the mobilisation of resources for NDC implementation throughout the region. The support received will ensure the successful staging of the first Forum for the OECS.

Taiwan’s Ambassador to Saint Lucia, His Excellency Douglas C.T. Shen, says that as a responsible and responsive development partner, Taiwan is capable and willing to contribute to the global efforts against climate change, as various cooperation projects in Saint Lucia over the last decade demonstrate. He emphasised that Taiwan should be given a bigger voice and wider avenue in the global discussion about climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Like all Small Island Developing States, Saint Lucia has a high and increasing vulnerability to climate change, precipitated by increasing global temperature, sea level rise and extreme weather events. Projected impacts, several of which are already occurring, include infrastructural damage, floods and droughts, reduced agricultural productivity, reduced supplies of potable water among others.

Saint Lucia’s NDC reflects the country’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as part of the Paris Agreement commitments and was communicated to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2015. Although Saint Lucia contributes 0.0015% of the total greenhouse gas emissions globally, the country is committed to efforts, which will restrict global temperature increase well below 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.

While the country’s NDC is mitigation-based and aims to reduce Greenhouse gas emission by 16% by 2025, and 23% by 2030, through interventions focused on energy, electricity generation and transport, Saint Lucia remains cognizant of the need for emphasis to be placed on adaptation as a means of enhancing its NDC. As such, the country has made strides towards building its adaptive capacity as reflected in its Climate Change Adaptation Policy and the National Adaptation Plan.

Present at the handing over ceremony was the Hon. Minister for Sustainable Development, the delegation from the Taiwan Ambassador’s office, the team from the Department of Sustainable Development and a representative from the Organisation of the Eastern Caribbean States Commission, who is supporting the Government of Saint Lucia on organising the Forum.

— Source: Ministry of Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development