Climate Action 2016-2017

THE
COMMONWEALTH
CLIMATE FINANCE
BUSINESS & FINANCE
ACCESS HUB
Patricia Scotland, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, describes how
the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub is unlocking climate finance
for adaptation and mitigation in developing countries, providing a new kind of
hope for vulnerable states.
Buccament Bay in St Vincent has been
described as a luxury holiday resort.
Invariably the focus is on its two
beaches – one which has black sand from
this volcanic island, and the other brilliant
white, imported mineral from Guyana for the
benefit of tourists. For locals, such as Conrad
Jack, paradise holds many bad memories.
On Christmas Eve 2013 a freak hundred-year
weather event smashed Conrad’s home in
two. His girlfriend, Shirla Edwards, and he
were swept away in the violent waters of the
Buccament River. Shirla’s body was never
found and she is presumed dead. Conrad was
relocated by the government and whenever
there is heavy rain, the memory of that
fateful day haunts him. What must always
be remembered is that Conrad, and others
like him, know hurricane seasons are a part
"No amount of money
can ever undo what
tropical storms achieve
in minutes – singlehandedly
halt decades of
progress."
of their lives and they accept it with a brave
calm. They have little choice but to acquiesce
for, unlike some parts of the world, escape is
not an option.
While the international focus and concern
are on the number of people who perish in
these natural disasters, it is not just about
the statistics of death. Every time there is
a climatic shock, homes and property are
destroyed. In the agricultural hinterland
of St Vincent, crops and vegetation are
uprooted, while tourism and trades are all
but extinguished. Last year I witnessed
the terrible cost to lives and the desolation
to infrastructure that Tropical Storm Erika
inflicted on my place of birth, Dominica.
In a matter of moments, this fury of nature
wiped out 90 per cent of the country’s gross
domestic product. In monetary terms, that’s
equivalent to almost half a billion US dollars.
But no amount of money can ever undo what
tropical storms achieve in minutes – singlehandedly
halt decades of progress.
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