At least 20 countries from Central America and the Caribbean are calling on the international financial and development institutions “to prioritise the provision of funds and resources” to support the efforts of developing countries in the region in addressing climate change.

Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), Ronald Sanders, drafted the original and historic declaration after securing unanimous support.

The joint declaration calls for international financial and development institutions to prioritise the provision of funds and resources to Central America and the Caribbean, with Sanders noting that while small island developing states have been making their voices heard at meetings of the UN Committee of the Parties and at many climate change meetings, there is a need to widen the alliance of states which are jointly seeking remedies for loss and damage to their economies and the livelihoods of their people.

“Now, they have not only let the world know of their joint worry, but they have also collectively called for action,” Sanders said.

The 20 countries that made the joint declaration at the OAS General Assembly are Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, The Bahamas, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts-Nevis, Haiti, Jamaica, Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Panama.

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