Minister for Natural Resources Honourable Melvin Turnbull has pledged to take the initiative within the British Virgin Islands to see that legislation is strengthened as it relates to taking action on Climate Change.
At the time, Turnbull was participating as a panellist at the “Protagonist Latin American and Caribbean Parliaments: Mobilizing Climate Finance” event – a parallel activity to the ongoing 27th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 27).
“ I believe this effort, the work that has been done here, we are signed on to, we are happy to be a part of the efforts… As minister I am pledging to take the lead in the British Virgin Islands to work with my Premier and the other governments and the other territories that are represented here to do all that is necessary to strengthen legislation, to enact legislation and more so to receive funding so that we can act on the plans, on the resources, on all the data we receive from throughout the region on how climate change is affecting us”, he said.
The panel had two main objectives, discussing the treatment of financing in the climate legislation of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, and expressing the common voice of Latin American and Caribbean Parliamentarians on climate finance through the symbolic signing of a joint declaration.
The event was a result of initiatives by parliamentary leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean to participate in the Parliamentary Observatory on Climate Change and Just Transition. The Observatory itself was born from a need to strengthen inter parliamentary cooperations to allow policymakers to review and approve legislation to support the transition to sustainable, low carbon economies.
It was a year ago, at COP 26 that fifteen of these parliamentarians signed on to “the creation of OPCC”, with the aim of constituting a shared information tool on the state of parliamentary procedures related to environmental initiatives and environmental legislation in Latin America and the Caribbean.
In recognition of the achievements made since the signing, Turnbull lauded the efforts of all involved and underlined the necessity of developing states working together in such endeavours.
“I’ve come to a number of conventions and conferences and the larger countries continue to overshadow some of us who are not that big. But what I am proud of… what I stand just joyful of is that a group over a year ago that says that the journey of one mile begins with one step and over a year ago this group decided to come together as small island developing states , medium term states and join their resources together, join their ideas together to address the issues of climate change and the funding and I am happy to be a part and sign on to this body with the other members… This is a tremendous step to help us as we grow together”, he said.