COP26


COP is an abbreviation for Conference of the Parties, held by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to discuss the Climate Emergency. COP26 is the twenty-sixth Conference of the Parties. This is a two-week event that is held annually and is attended by world leaders who gather to discuss the climate crisis and the solutions. The Caribbean islands are on the frontline of Climate Change facing many impacts. Many Caribbean leaders are at COP26 including our Prime Minister, Dr Keith Rowley. This week we are going to analyze his speech.

Figure 1: COP26 Logo (UNFCCC 2021)

Dr. Keith Rowley opens with “We gather today at a pivotal point in the history of humanity, in a further attempt to deepen commitment and determination to mitigate the effects of climate change”. This statement comes after the World Energy Outlook provided information on the grim report on the state of our climate crisis. Without immediate changes to our rather unsustainable practices, we will not be able to meet the Paris Agreement goal of limiting our global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. He briefly mentioned the climate change issues that we face in Trinidad and Tobago such as coral bleaching and coastal erosion.

Figure 2: Dr Keith Rowley at COP26 (CNC3 2021)

Our Prime Ministry acknowledged that our economy is built on oil and gas along with the petrochemical industry. This industry is one of the primary Greenhouse Gas emitting industries. Dr. Keith Rowley has pledged to reduce Trinidad and Tobago’s emissions by building the largest solar farm in the Caribbean with a capacity of 112 megawatts that should account for 10% of the total electricity consumption. He has plans to increase the capacity of the solar farm to 30% by the year 2030.

            Dr. Keith Rowley also mentioned other mitigation options such as:

  • Developing e-mobility policies and he stated that we have already implemented measures to encourage electric vehicles.
  • Addressing socio-economic issues associated with the energy transition along with a fair transition of the workforce policy.
  • Possible investments in green hydrogen.
  • Investing in carbon sequestration projects.

The question remains, how will we implement these mitigation measures? Our Prime Minister has stated that we require monetary assistance to execute these plans but what are the details of these plans? How will they be executed and most importantly when will they be put into action? 

Figure 3: The process of mitigation strategies (Mitigation Guide 2021)


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