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(CNS): The new climate policy appears to be in danger of suffering the same fate as its predecessor, and it has already begun Dust The document, which had been sitting on government shelves, was presented to the PACT caucus by then-Premier Wayne Panton about a year ago. In Parliament last week, Panton asked the current Minister of Sustainable Development what had happened to the document, which was due to be presented to Cabinet last October, and why it had not yet been adopted given that the policy identified serious risks facing the Cayman Islands and its people.
Panton asked why the final policy had not been issued as a guide for long-term planning, particularly in light of the recent devastation Cayman endured with Hurricane Beryl, which made clear how climate change is affecting our region as storms intensify and sea levels rise.
Katherine Ebanks-Wilkes, who now holds the sustainability portfolio but has come under intense pressure from cabinet colleagues to support weakening the NCA, told Panton that the draft policy he had tabled had been edited since November “to reflect feedback received from elected members when it was first presented to caucus”.
She did not say what those changes were, how much the policy had changed, or whether they were made based on technical advice from the ministry, the National Conservation Council or the Ministry of Environment.
“The ministry has submitted an updated draft policy to the caucus, but it is not yet on the agenda for consideration,” Ebanks-Wilkes said. “The ministry continues to advance related work, such as raising public awareness of the serious risks that climate change poses to our beloved island.”
Panton asked the minister for confirmation that, given the amount of time that had passed, the current government did realize the severity of the risks facing the people of the Cayman Islands in terms of climate change. But she was unable to provide that confirmation, nor could she assure Panton that the new government was indeed aware of the issues facing the country.
Despite this, the minister said the ministry will continue to work on climate change and a policy paper is on the cabinet agenda, but she could not reveal when the ministry would adopt the policy as it now has to be reconsidered.
“I really can’t give a definitive answer to that at this point,” she told Panton and the audience.
View information about the policy and the risk assessment on which it is based. here.
Watch a Q&A about this on CIGTV:
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