“Canada’s support to ensure that SIDS are not disadvantaged by the governance structures and operational guidelines of the soon-to-be-established Loss and Damage Fund is critical,” asserts Saint Lucia’s Sustainable Development Minister Shawn Edward.

Minister Edward, in his capacity as Chairman of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), recently met with Canada’s Minister of International Development and the Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada, Harjit S. Sajjan.

This meeting, held in Barbados was part of Minister Sajjan’s two-island trip to the region this week to hold talks with officials on shared priorities including climate resilience and the region’s ability to prepare for and manage natural disasters.

The engagements are expected to deepen Canada’s commitment to the region, demonstrate support for local and regional priorities in the Caribbean, and strengthen Sajjan’s role overall as a champion for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) at the United Nations-Commonwealth level.

In a roundtable discussion with Sajjan, Minister Edward says he “registered the region’s gratitude for decades of support from the Government and People of Canada and emphasized the need for further cooperation and partnership in Disaster Management and Risk Mitigation.”

The CDEMA Chair encouraged Minister Sajjan to continue being an advocate for small island developing regions on matters of climate governance, specifying improved access to financing for climate-vulnerable nations.

“When the modalities of the UNFCCC Loss & Damage Fund are deliberated on at the Conference of the Parties in Dubai later this year,” he later stressed, “we hope that the input of Canada and other developed nations would be sufficient to ensure that this facility is well-equipped and vulnerable SIDS do not encounter onerous procedures to access resources from it.”

Canada initiated its response to loss and damage two weeks into COP272 with a monetary pledge to a separate Global Shield Financing Facility3 and committed to supporting further.

While in Barbados, Minister Edward also met with officers at CDEMA headquarters to express appreciation for their incident responses and milestones achieved for 2022. He also conveyed best wishes for the New Year from Saint Lucia Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre, who is CARICOM’s Prime Ministerial lead on Disaster Management.

Source: Government of Saint Lucia: https://www.govt.lc/news/cdema-anticipates-canadas-support-for-loss-and-damage-fund