Prime Minister the Honourable Gaston Browne has arrived in Belém, Brazil to participate in the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Upon arrival, Prime Minister Browne held high-level discussions with global and regional leaders, including Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO); President Irfaan Ali of Guyana; and senior Ministers from Venezuela. The talks focused on advancing climate resilience, sustainable development, and global health security amid the challenges of a rapidly changing climate.
He is accompanied by a delegation that includes H.E. Ruleta Camacho-Thomas, Ambassador for Climate Change, and Diann Black-Layne, Director of the Department of Environment.
Speaking at the COP30 Plenary Session, Prime Minister Browne issued a powerful call for honesty, courage, and urgent action to confront the escalating climate crisis, particularly for Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which face existential threats.
“For Small Island States, the climate crisis is not past or future tense — it is our lived reality,” Prime Minister Browne said. “Antigua and Barbuda comes to Belém with one fundamental message: 1.5°C is our lifeline. We cannot and will not surrender 1.5°C.”
He stressed the urgent need for equitable climate finance, stronger global accountability, and accelerated emissions reductions, emphasizing that climate finance is not charity — it is climate justice. Major polluting nations must lead in repairing the damage their emissions have caused.
The Prime Minister’s address comes in the wake of devastating climate events in the region, including Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica, highlighting the immediate impacts of global warming on vulnerable nations. He reaffirmed Antigua and Barbuda’s commitment to resilience, adaptation, and the principles of Loss and Damage as essential mechanisms for recovery and justice.
“We must stand together to halt this ecocide — to restore balance and build economies that serve humanity, not just profit,” Prime Minister Browne stated. “This COP — the COP of Truth — must deliver more than promises. The world has the knowledge, technology, and financial resources to act. What we need now is the political and moral will to match the urgency of this moment.”
Prime Minister Browne also praised Brazil for hosting COP30 in the heart of the Amazon, “the lungs of the Earth,” and for launching the Tropical Forest Forever Facility, describing it as “a bold symbol of global solidarity.”
Antigua and Barbuda stands ready to join global efforts to protect the planet, “not as a victim, but as a voice of resilience and hope,” he concluded.
