Saint Lucia's minister for climate change Dr. James Fletcher, was commended for his sterling work during climate change negotiations at COP21.

Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) commended Saint Lucia’s Minister for Sustainable Development, Hon. Dr. James Fletcher, for his sterling work in achieving a positive outcome for the Caribbean during negotiations at the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Hon. Dr. James Fletcher is the chairman of the CARICOM Task Force on Sustainable Development, and the chairman of the Regional Coordinating Committee on Climate Change, and he led negotiations in Paris last year on behalf of CARICOM, which led to the historic adoption of the Paris Agreement.

At the recently concluded 27th Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM, the CARICOM leaders recognized the need to capitalize on the achievements at COP21 by working to improve national and regional capacities to take advantage of the opportunities provided in the Paris Agreement. They also agreed on the need to mainstream climate change adaptation processes in national development plans and accelerate readiness programming to facilitate access to climate financing.

The CARICOM Heads of Government directed that the Regional Task Force on Sustainable Development, led by Dr. James Fletcher, together with the team of regional negotiators and experts, should continue their work to facilitate the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

The commendation by the CARICOM Heads of Government for the work of Dr. Fletcher echoed a similar acknowledgement by the then Chairman of CARICOM, Prime Minister Hon. Freundel Stuart of Barbados, which was delivered in the Barbados Parliament in December last year, at the conclusion of COP21.

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