Queen Elizabeth II passed away last week after reigning for 70 years over a Commonwealth of Nations that included Barbados until November 2021, when the country became a republic. In an interview with FRANCE 24, Prime Minister Mia Mottley said the queen "did extraordinary well as the head of the United Kingdom and, indeed, as head of the Commonwealth".
Mottley told FRANCE 24 that the world needs "moral strategic leadership" on a global scale to tackle the climate change issue.
She pointed out that G20 countries, which are behind "80 percent of carbon emissions", bear particular responsibility. She said that while Barbados "might be the canary in the mine – the first on the front line", climate change is "an existential crisis for the whole world".
Barbados faces unique challenges in not being able to access the electric cars or photovoltaic panels that would help it reduce its carbon emissions. Barbados has "a real issue doing the right thing", she said, because her country lacks "access to the supplies and the material that allow us to do the right thing".
Click on the video player above to watch the full interview.
