Caribbean Times 34th Issue - Friday 11th November 2016
Caribbean Times 34th Issue - Friday 11th November 2016
Caribbean Times 34th Issue - Friday 11th November 2016
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<strong>Friday</strong> <strong>11th</strong> <strong>November</strong> <strong>2016</strong> c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g 7<br />
cont’d from pg 6<br />
tries will find the competition<br />
for the Trump administration’s<br />
attention to be<br />
daunting. But, too much is<br />
at stake to hold back from<br />
the critical and crucial work<br />
that has to be done.<br />
One of the biggest challenges<br />
that faces the <strong>Caribbean</strong>,<br />
and one with dire consequences,<br />
is how to change<br />
Mr Trump’s campaign position<br />
on Climate Change<br />
which he believes to be a<br />
myth.<br />
<strong>Caribbean</strong> countries,<br />
subject year after year, to<br />
frequent and intense natural<br />
disasters know well that far<br />
from being a myth, Climate<br />
Change and its concomitant<br />
sea-level rise are facts that<br />
have already set back their<br />
economies and are now<br />
eroding their coastal areas<br />
and land mass.<br />
If in three years’ time,<br />
the Trump administration<br />
does withdraw the US from<br />
the agreement of the Conference<br />
of the Parties (COP)<br />
on Climate Change, it will<br />
start a chain reaction with<br />
grave consequences for the<br />
survival of the region.<br />
For, if the US pulls out<br />
of the COP agreement, two<br />
other great polluters – China<br />
and India – will do the<br />
same, on the basis that if the<br />
US is continuing to industrialise<br />
despite pollution, why<br />
shouldn’t they.<br />
Other countries would<br />
follow the pattern; the COP<br />
agreement would unravel<br />
and the small island states<br />
and countries with low lying<br />
coasts in the <strong>Caribbean</strong><br />
and the Pacific will be the<br />
victims.<br />
There are, of course, other<br />
difficulties in the US-<strong>Caribbean</strong><br />
relationship that did<br />
not start with Mr Trump.<br />
They include ‘de-risking’<br />
and the withdrawal by<br />
US banks of correspondent<br />
relations with <strong>Caribbean</strong><br />
banks – a situation that is<br />
a dagger at the heart of the<br />
region’s capacity to participate<br />
in the global finance<br />
and trading system.<br />
Starting a conversation<br />
with members of the Trump<br />
administration is essential<br />
to get the <strong>Caribbean</strong>’s concerns<br />
across.<br />
The US has chosen its<br />
President and its Congressional<br />
representatives in accordance<br />
with its Constitution<br />
and its laws. That deal<br />
is done.<br />
This is not a time for<br />
hand-wringing and lamentation;<br />
it is a time for engagement,<br />
persuasion and<br />
negotiation in the region’s<br />
interest.<br />
Editor’s Note: The<br />
opinions expressed in this<br />
Op-ed are those of the author<br />
and do not necessarily<br />
reflect the views of <strong>Caribbean</strong><br />
<strong>Times</strong>.