Black Immigrant Daily News

The head of the United Nations called Monday for scientists to serve up “cold, hard facts” to push governments into making policies that curb climate change before a key global warming threshold is passed.

His comments came as experts and officials from around the world gathered for a week-long meeting in the Swiss Alpine town of Interlaken to finalize the last of seven reports issued by the global body’s panel of top scientists since the Paris climate accordwas forged in 2015.

In a video address to delegates, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change “could not come at a more pivotal time.”

“Our world is at a crossroads — and our planet is in the crosshairs,” he said. “We are nearing the point of no return; of overshooting the internationally agreed limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) of global warming.”

That threshold, agreed in Paris almost eight years ago and measured against average temperatures during pre-industrial times, has become the yardstick for climate scientists who warn of the dangers of an ever hotter planet.

Guterres cited recent IPCC reports showing that while some impacts of global warming are already unavoidable, “it is possible to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees with rapid and deep emissions reductions across all sectors of the global economy.”

Some scientists disagree, noting that the rate at which greenhouse gas is being pumped into the atmosphere makes this limit almost impossible to keep to.

The U.N. chief said the final installment in the IPCC’s sixth reporting cycle — known as the synthesis report because it brings together insights from six previous papers — should provide governments with “solid, frank, detailed scientific guidance to make the right decisions for people and planet” when they gather for the annual world climate conference in Dubai at the end of the year.

Guterres stressed that speeding up the phase-out of fossil fuels is “tough but essential.”

“Show the urgent need to end global heating with cold, hard facts,” he told delegates.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Barbados has inched closer to making the Grantley Adams International Airport a regional aviation hub, and helping to make it a reality is interCaribbean Airways, with the introduction of flights from St. Kitts.

Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Ian Gooding-Edghill, welcomed a fully booked 48-seater interCaribbean Airways inaugural flight out of St. Kitts, on Sunday, March 12.

Minister Gooding-Edghill noted that intraregional travel has been impacted by the reduction of LIAT flights, and prior to interCaribbean entering the market in 2020, persons had to travel to Miami to visit their Caribbean neighbours.

“We are thankful for partners such as interCaribbean, who are working with us not just to return connectivity to the Caribbean, but to position Barbados as a hub for its operations. interCaribbean has been a strong partner for Barbados since its first flight…. This new service builds on our airline partnership with interCaribbean and will open up even more opportunities for travel, trade, and tourism between our two countries,” he stated.

The Tourism Minister disclosed that in analysing last year’s data, Barbados’ tourism industry recorded a 65 per cent recovery in arrivals in 2022 compared to 2018, and the Caribbean made up 12 per cent of those arrivals, with 54,285 visitors coming between January and December 2022.

Minister Gooding-Edghill thanked the Chairman and Founder of interCaribbean Airways, Lyndon Gardiner, for being on the inaugural flight and for continuing to have confidence in Barbados as a key destination for the airline’s business development.

Gardiner said it was both humbling and exciting for him to celebrate yet another inaugural flight, which seeks to continue and enhance the partnership with the Government and people of Barbados. “We’re no longer filling a temporary void; we are here providing a viable service; we’re here to stay,” he said.

The Chairman and Founder of interCaribbean Airways noted that the airline plans to optimise its services through its office located in Barbados. “We are also investing in upscaling our customer service management tools to provide faster and more efficient responses to our customers. We are making improvements on all fronts and today’s partnership is a symbol of and a commitment to that endeavour.

“Partnerships like these solidify one region, one community agenda that we have tried for so long to shape and adapt. We are excited for the future because collectively, we know that a more connected region is a safer, more prosperous region for us all,” Gardiner emphasised.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of St Kitts Tourism Authority, Ellison Thompson, and the Authority’s Deputy CEO, Melnecia Marshall, were also on board the flight.

They said they are looking forward to working with the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI), to see how both tourism authorities can maximise the new airlift and build on the existing relationship between the two countries.

The flight, which was captained by Arian Blanchard, who has been flying for 17 years, and her First Officer Reco Colbourne, was also welcomed by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Francine Blackman; BTMI’s CEO, Dr. Jens Thraenhart, and Chairman of the BTMI Board, Shelly Williams.

interCaribbean Airways will be operating the nonstop service between St. Kitts and Barbados three times a week – on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

At a meeting of the Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) on 7-10 March, WTO members shared best practices on the regulation of plastics and discussed standards and technical regulations that could contribute to addressing climate change challenges.

Members also discussed a total of 74 trade concerns, 12 of which were raised for the first time, with respect to a variety of product areas. The Committee meeting coincided with International Women’s Day.

Two thematic sessions were held together with the Committee meeting. The first thematic session on regulatory cooperation between members on plastics regulation provided an opportunity for members to share experiences and good practices in plastics regulation and policy, which aim to minimize plastics waste leakage and plastics pollution, while encouraging trade and innovation.

While discussing national and regional perspectives, the session also addressed international developments to minimize plastics pollution and plastics waste in the environment and considered how these efforts may necessitate future international cooperation. The session also highlighted key TBT principles for efficient cooperation such as transparency, public consultation, the use of international standards, the use of data and technical information, technical assistance, development considerations, and the national quality infrastructure that underpins these systems.

The second thematic session on regulatory cooperation between members on climate change focused on the role of regulatory measures in contributing to members’ strategies for tackling climate change. The session highlighted the importance of increasing international cooperation and harmonization of regulations and ensuring effective participation of developing countries in international standard-setting processes in the area of trade and climate change. The session was an opportunity for members to share their experiences in designing and adopting regulatory measures related to trade and climate change as well as the challenges faced in their implementation.

Specific trade concerns

Members discussed 74 specific trade concerns at the Committee meeting, of which 12 were discussed for the first time. The full list of trade concerns raised can be found here.

Several of the new concerns were related to labelling requirements of products such as washing machines, hazardous substances, and alcoholic beverages, while others dealt with the regulation of medical, electrical, and charging equipment for quality and safety and energy efficiency purposes. The issue of packaging and shipment of waste for the purpose of facilitating environment friendly management of waste was also raised, among other topics.

Two Members took the floor to announce progress in their discussions of trade concerns. The UK announced progress with Saudi Arabia on its concerns with a Saudi technical regulation limiting hazardous materials in electrical and electronic equipment (STC ID 666), while the US announced progress with Qatar on the issue of Qatar’s health circular on shelf life for cheese (STC ID 602).

ePing

The WTO secretariat held a walk-in session on ePing for delegates to answer specific queries and receive feedback on the platform. In 2022, ePing became the central tool for managing notifications. The number of registered users continues to rise with around half from governments and the rest from companies, academia and civil society. By registering on the platform, users can benefit from features such as email alerts on notifications of interest. [photo of Room A]

Annual Review

The TBT Committee is mandated to carry out an annual review of activities relating to the implementation and operation of the TBT Agreement, including notifications, specific trade concerns, technical assistance activities, and TBT related disputes. At its March meeting, the Committee heard highlights form the twenty-eighth Annual Review, which is available in G/TBT/50.

Highlights from 2022 Annual Report:

3,896 notifications of new or modified TBT measures were submitted, a slight decline compared to 2021.
84 members (just over half of the WTO membership) submitted at least one notification during the year.
The vast majority of new notifications (83%) were submitted by developing and least developed country members.
There were five East African Community countries among the top ten notifying members: Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi.
241 STCs were reviewed by members during 2022. Many of the STCs raised in the TBT Committee relate to notified measures – between 1995-2002, 67% of all STCs raised cited at least one notification.

Transparency Working Group:

The Committee heard an update on proposals that were considered by the Working Group on Transparency. The first from Canada relates to modification of notification guidelines to improve the clarity and quality of notifications and a second put forward by the United States aims to provide more structure to certain notifications which can now be submitted through ePing.

New TBT Publication in Portuguese

Brazil announced the publication of a Portuguese-language version of the WTO TBT Handbook. Brazil stated that this will be an important tool for disseminating information about the TBT Agreement not only for Brazilians, but for the approximately 300 million Portuguese speakers in various countries around the globe. The official launch of the publication will take place on 30 March.

What’s next

The next formal TBT Committee meetings will take place on 21-23 June 2023. Digital products and cybersecurity will be the focus at the 20 June thematic sessions. The Committee will also hold an information exchange meeting for TBT enquiry point officials on 19 June.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The United States Coast Guard says a crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Spencer offloaded in Port Everglades, Florida about 4,810 kilos of cocaine worth over US$160.3 million.

The drug was seized in the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean.

Along with the illicit narcotics, the US Coast Guard said eight suspected smugglers who were also apprehended, face prosecution in US federal court by the US Department of Justice.

The US Coast Guard said the offloaded drugs were interdicted during three separate operations in the international waters of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

The crews were from the US Coast Guard Cutter Spencer (WMEC 905), USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) with embarked USCG Law Enforcement Detachment 104, Royal Netherlands Navy Ship HNLMS Holland (P840) with embarked USCG Law Enforcement Detachment 40, and a USCG Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron helicopter.

The US Coast Guard said that, initially, a suspect vessel was “detected and monitored” by US or allied military or law enforcement personnel coordinated by Joint Interagency Task Force-South based in Key West, Florida.

“Once interdiction becomes imminent, the law enforcement phase of the operation begins, and control of the operation shifts to the US Coast Guard throughout the interdiction and apprehension,” it said.

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