Almost three years to the day after powerful Category 5 Hurricane Dorian ripped though the northwestern Bahamas, leaving billions of dollars in damage, the island nation welcomed Tuesday delegates from 17 Caribbean countries and international financing institutions to a two-day high-level summit to address the climate crisis.
The historic meeting, hosted by the Bahamas at a resort in Nassau, comes ahead of the United Nations Climate Conference, more commonly referred to as COP 27, in November in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The goal, said Prime Minister Philip Davis, who lauded the recent passage of the massive climate change bill in the U.S. Congress, is for Caribbean leaders to speak with one voice.
“Our goal is to construct practical financing solutions, ones that help us move forward rather than lead to further indebtedness,” Davis said at an opening press conference. “I remain optimistic about our collective ability to meet the challenge of climate change.”
