Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit, is of the belief that the developed world is not doing enough in terms of climate change and questioned whether Dominica should even attend international conferences on the matter.
He spoke at a press conference on Monday on the sixth anniversary of the passage of Hurricane Maria which devastated Dominica on September 18, 2017. Many climate experts have warned more powerful hurricanes will occur frequently in the future because of climate change.
It was a point that Skerrit reiterated when he spoke.
“The reality is hurricanes are gonna come more frequently and more ferociously, that’s what the science is saying.” he stated.
Based on that fact, Skerrit said he is calling on the developed world to do more in responding to the impact of climate change.
“They have made promises at the Paris Agreement, every COP summit there are promises made by the developed world,” he said.
“We started off many years ago with [them] saying, well they needed to provide us with grants to build mitigation against storms and to build resilience. Then they move to saying it’s a loan, they move to green bond. They move now to saying the private sector will do investments. I am not sure which private sector firm will build a sea defense wall or to build a hospital for government. Really and truly, the developed world is not living up to their expressed and agreed promises.”
The Paris Agreement, also called COP21, is an international treaty, named for the city of Paris, France, in which it was adopted in December 2015. It aims to reduce the emission of gases that contribute to global warming and climate change.
The next meeting of the agreement, called COP28, is expected to take place in Dubai from 30 November to 12 December 2023, and Skerrit wondered whether Dominica should attend.
“Every time a COP conference comes up, we ask ourselves, should we go, isn’t that a waste of money to go,” he stated.
However, according to Skerrit, Dominica should not give up fighting against, what he described as “an injustice.”
“If our forebearers were to say too many people died in attempts for emancipation and therefore let us just agree that we will remain slaves for the rest of our lives, we would not be here as free black people or free people in the world,”he remarked.
“And so it is an injustice that we have to continue to fight.”
He went on to say that the fight against climate change should not rest only on the shoulders of the government but everyone should play their part.
“What I always say to Caribbean people in particular is that, this should not appear to be a fight only for the government,” Skerrit said.
“We must recognize that it must be a fight for all of us to play our part.”
He said that climate change affects everybody and therefore “it is important for us to lend our voices calling on the international community to play their part in addressing the issue.”
He stated that in light of the devastation caused by Maria, climate change should seen as an “existential threat.”
“And so let us take this moment to reflect on where we were on the morning of September 19 (2017), when we woke up to the reality of the impact of the natural disaster Maria (had) on us,” the Prime Minister stated.
Roosevelt, since you have become the police of the world, with the most knowledge about everything, you are in solidarity with every dictator, thieves and garbage collectors and all!
And since you are in league with your Chines friends, and handlers, who manipulates you as the puppet you are on a Chines string; and whereas they the Chines are the major polluters and contributor to climate change you that corrupted crook should simply tell your less than human Chines to phase out the industries in China which has caused climate change!
You are the least of all persons, to open your mouth, you are all talk; Dominica is the poorest, and most backward place on the planet, where hunger and poverty is the order of the day; the less than fifty thousand residence on the island are suffering!
Roosevelt I suggest you review the death ratio to the birth ratio on the island, and try to figure out why more people are dying than children been born.
All due because of your evil!
This man is in all sources where he is not an authority in most of these areas. Doesn’t he have a minister of the “Environment” who may be somewhat knowledgeable in the field of global warming, ozone layer, flood prevention, (and by the way, people like Parris @ Sons and such like, should take some responsibility for the unprecedented flooding that has been happening in Dominica due to the MOUNTAIN TOP REMOVAL for the making of aggregate stones.) Back on the environment; Dominicans are not able to enjoy a peaceful night rest due to the thousands of old junked vehicles put aside in their community for Mosquitoes 🦟 to live and breed. The am cannot clean up his backyard but is pecking his nose in “Developed Countries” to stop their pollution. I doubt very much that Roosevelt spend any of his time reading anything intellectual. But he brief his people on things which are written for him by another scum bag.
Hon. Prime Minister the question and the challenge for globally insignificant little countries like Dominica is not, should we go to the COP and other climate conferences, but instead how effective is our representation and how do we become more effective at the table? Are you sending the right experts, expertise to make effective representation? Or is it for friends, family and party supporters? You are the leader!
If you are sending political party faithful’s for a jolly and a shopping spree overseas in the name of attending conference or representing Dominica, and they are unskilled, untrained and unequipped to make effective representation, then it is your fault! Ask Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados, she is making amazing international progress for Barbados and SIDS through effective, dynamic and intelligent representation on the world stage! Who are your professional ambassadors? Being a party supporter is not necessarily the best qualification for a diplomatic job!
Mr Liar, deceiver and Hypocrite, what the heck is wrong with you? Today world leaders are meeting at the UN, where you ran to after Hurricane Maria and talked about making Dominica the first resilient country in the world. Why are you not there today to let these leaders know about your progress and the stupidness you talking here? Better yet, all this is happening on the anniversary of Maria, so why the heck you didn’t go to the UN? What are you afraid of? You ran to Cuba to attend a less important meeting so why not go to the UN? Sacwe liar , forward, deceiver, hypocrite and stupid,
He can’t go to the States anymore. He is afraid of the FBI and the CIA.
Norma why do you and your Cabal continue with these lies? When he attended the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles CA, did the FBI and CIA go into hiding? You all are just a bunch of lying sc*** bags with no shame.
@ Norma why do you and your cabal continue to spread these lies, just moving from one outrageous lie to the next. Was Skeritt afraid when he attended the summit of the Americas in Los Angeles CA and met with President Biden?
How do you know? Do you perhaps go by the name of Gucci? OMG, how desperate people can get when the pressure is building.
Maria was the impetus to Dominica becoming the first climate resilient nation in the world. The standard to which all of the world’s nations would aspire. What happened? I guess that was just hyperbolic utterances.
Maria was the impetus to Dominica becoming the first climate resilient country in the world. The standard to which all of the world’s nations would aspire. What happened? I guess that was hyperbolic utterances.
China is the biggest culprit talk to them
Developed countries have to look about their population.
number one reason why developed countries don’t take 3rd world countries seriously is because it is in their best interest not to.
imagine having a kid, he turns 18. wants talk that grown talk. parent looks at him. I love you but if u leave I get to keep my money. ok leave. you leave then nothing comes of you due to gross negligence, waste, and irresponsibility. but when stuff goes wrong you complain that your adult family don’t do this and don’t do that.
stop electing uneducated and inexperienced ppl to lead yall then you’ll not have to complain so much. you want ppl take climate change serious take concrete steps to make them do so.
Excuse me Sir but what are you doing to “combat climate” change don’t you rely on the importation of diesel for the vast majority of Dominica’s energy needs…???
And what exactly do you do, Mr. CM? Do you do your fair share? Of course you don’t. Domlec has been using polluting generators for years, the country is full of air polluting trucks, have you encouraged the use of solar, have you given incentives for importing solar panels. Of course you haven’t. You much rather stand in front of us and talk BS and hope we all swallow your rhetoric. You haven’t got an ounce of credibility left!
Has Dominica implemented vehicles exhaust control?
how many vehicles are compliant?
The fact :
Many poor countries target industrialized countries for climate change in order to collect money !
the truth : pollution mainly comes from countries which do not combat it (India, China, Africa, Russia, South America, etc.)
I know ! I know ! the truth is not always easy to hear
Startboy of Stupidity has not done one thing in his ow country o reduce the carbon footprint. He just want to extort money from developed countries. Look at how much destruction and damage his administration has done to rivers, lakes, the coastal areas, the sea, forests, and the general landscape. Is this a person who cares about climate change?
He has literally destroyed thousands of acres of virgin lands and green spaces to build concrete jungles. Roosevelt can be considered to be an environmental terrorist.
Stupsssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss folks got real issues over here. Making up things like people have time to waste!
Stupsssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss folks got real issues over here
“Every time a COP conference comes up, we ask ourselves, should we go, isn’t that a waste of money to go,” he stated.
NO, it isn’t a waste of money! Isn’t Dominica on track to becoming the first climate resilient country in the world? If nothing else, Dominica should be happy to show people how to “take charge of their resilient future” ( per a Dominica government minister). They should attend as a prototype to the rich nations, share their expertise, and show them how it is done. They can use the COP conferences as the perfect opportunities to let the whole world know of their ambitious Marshall Plan to fight climate change and save the planet. For, collaboration and knowledge sharing are key tools to creating a better world.
No Skerrit forget about climate change you and your government are not doing anything to ensure that Dominica has a cheap and reliable source of energy, period, while you continue to rely on the importation of diesel, and have not commissioned not one solar plant in 23 years while your Dominicans struggle to keep the lights on…!!!
Interestingly, many of us are waking up in similar circumstances today: no power, no water. The recent updates from Domlec suggest that in addition to ageing generators, both ambient temperature (the recent heatwave) and low water levels (lack of rainfall) are key contributors to the current situation. Both are due to climate change, both are what we’re supposed to be ‘fighting’. So why are the lights out Mr Skerrit?
You are a non entity in the developed world, or on the a global stage.You are the most stupid and doltish CARICOM leader. Who cares whether or not you attend this global meeting? It’s not a place you can travel with your clappers Mr Chi Chi. You are incapable of solving Dominica’s problem, can you solve world problem.