The Republic of China (Taiwan) reaffirmed its support for the Caribbean National Contribution Financing Initiative (NDCFI).
Taiwan’s continued commitment to the Caribbean NDCFI came on Tuesday, July 5, 2022, during the opening of the second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) investment forum convened by the Government of Saint Lucia and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).
The second NDC Investment Forum was held from 5 to 7 July 2022 at the Harbor Club Hotel, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia, under the theme “From the Front Line to the Future: Uniting the Caribbean for Bold Climate Action” and highlighted issues and solutions related to for the decarbonisation of the Eastern Caribbean, by exploring ambitions and possibilities through cooperation and support.
In September 2018, Taiwan assisted the Department of Sustainable Development in hosting the first regional NDC Investment Forum held in October of that year. In April 2022, Taiwan donated EC$30,000.00 to NDCFI to host this year’s investment forum.
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During his speech at the opening of the plenary and panel discussion on July 5, 2022, H.E. Peter Chia-yen Chen, Taiwan’s ambassador to Saint Lucia, said Taiwan was pleased to once again help host the important investment forum. However, he noted that more needs to be done to decarbonize the Eastern Caribbean and build resilience to the impacts of climate change, adding that Taiwan is taking some bold steps.
“Taiwan, as a partner of the NDC, is very willing to mobilize more resources to help those efforts,” Ambassador Chen said. “This March, the Government of Taiwan unveiled its roadmap to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, joining 136 other countries around the world in achieving the goal of limiting global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.”
Ambassador Chen added: “The roadmap proposal includes renewable energy accounting for 60-70% of Taiwan’s electricity supply by 2050, developing carbon capture, utilization and storage technology, revising laws and regulations, promoting decarbonized transportation, electric vehicles and of green buildings. Taiwan sees achieving net zero and mitigating the climate crisis as our collective and generational responsibility as we join the world.”
Acting Prime Minister, dr. Ernest Hilaire, who spoke on behalf of Prime Minister Hon. Philip J. Pierre, said the gathering of key stakeholders at the investment forum symbolized the recognition that there is strength in numbers. He noted that, as the Region continues to experience economic contractions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change must remain a priority.
“At this time, as we continue our efforts to recover from the pandemic, even as the global economy continues to limit our progress, we must seize the opportunity to design high-impact strategic resilience measures to further recover from severe loss, including job losses that we all suffered. This is an opportunity for us to truly pursue a green recovery path for long-term sustainable growth with climate resilience,” said Hilaire.
Hon. Shawn Edward, Minister for Education, Sustainable Development, Innovation, Science, Technology and Training, encouraged all stakeholders to continue playing their roles to achieve the goal of climate change mitigation.
“Let us ensure that we continue to play our part,” Hon. Edward said. “We as small island developing states must continue to fight bravely and persevere together amid the threats of climate change,” he said.
Meanwhile, dr. Didacus Jules, Director General of the OECS, said that despite the harsher reality that science is showing humanity in the future regarding climate change, a proactive approach is becoming necessary.
“Thinking about such a future is what spurred governments and people in the region to action in search of an alternative future; a future that is not based on fatalism, but on determination and collective action, and the belief that, together with a truly willing international community, we can turn the tide against climate change,” he said.
As an open regional platform for climate action, NDCFI calls for active engagement and contributions from interested countries, development partners, development banks and private sector stakeholders to achieve:
• Regional cross-sectoral and multi-stakeholder stakeholder consultation, engagement and exchange processes that support Caribbean climate leadership ambitions and catalyze investment in resilient and low-carbon infrastructure in priority sectors as identified by OECS Member States;
• Learning and providing support for opportunities that solve obstacles in the development of investment projects in key sectors; and
• Learning and support opportunities that improve access to public and private climate finance.
