Black Immigrant Daily News

Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 11, 2022 (RSCNPF): The senior citizens in the Stapleton area who are included in the Stapleton Police Senior Service were treated as part of an initiative for the Month of Older Persons.

Although celebrated in October, the Officers at the Stapleton Police Station only recently wrapped up their efforts with the delivery of a food hamper and a fruit basket to two residents in their district. Previously, eight others had their feet cared for by Soul-2-Sole and Nails by Rhonda who were brought in to assist in that area. Included in this year’s commemorative activities was the newest member of the Senior Service, 101-year-old Edmond Davis.

Sergeant with responsibility for the Stapleton Police Station, Sergeant Charmaine Audain, explained that while the Officers were brainstorming about activities they could undertake they reflected on the success of their Mother’s Day efforts.

“We tried to think about how we could show our love and appreciation for our elderly and I remembered on Mother’s Day, you know, how they enjoyed the foot care, the pedicure and stuff like that. So, I touched base with most of the family members and caretakers and persons really engaged us. One of the elderly persons had her feet done recently, so we blessed her with a fruit basket and another specifically requested a food hamper so we gave her what she asked for,” Sergeant Audain.

Officers at the Stapleton Police Station launched the Stapleton Police Senior Service in 2020 as part of their outreach initiatives when Officers had observed during their patrols that some elderly persons in the area lived alone. The Police Officers regularly stop by to check in on the individuals and sometimes assist them with errands. They decided to launch a service to help some of the most senior residents in their district whether they lived alone or not.

“We just want to let them know that we are here and that we are not just only popping-in and just saying ‘hi’ and stuff like that. We just want to give back to let them know that they are a part of us. They are a part of our foundation. They are a part of our roots. They’re the reason why we are here today and we want to celebrate with them also,” added the Sergeant. “I want to thank those in the community who assisted. Also, Retired Police Officer Sylvia Dabrio. She continues to assist us and donate to the elderly. Also, to the staff for their little contribution here and there. So, all and all, it’s about sharing the love and letting them know that we love them and we appreciate them.”

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The first few days of any U.N. climate conference are dominated by a series of short speeches from heads of state from across the world. It’s something of a paradox, at least on its face: These presidents, kings and prime ministers are each country’s most prominent attendees, but the actual work of the talks ends up having little to do with the often-similar speeches given by the heads of state.

There is some variation, of course. This year, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed support for various climate financing proposals, including suspension of debt for disaster-struck developing countries. That would represent a big shift in a growing conversation about the spiral of debt that poorer countries will struggle to escape in a warming world.

And in a two-day sprint that includes words from everyone from the king of Jordan to the president of Kiribati, there are some from smaller countries and economies than France that still carry more weight in this particular discussion. For example, Gaston Browne is the prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda (population 100,000, roughly that of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, metro area).

He spoke Tuesday morning on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States, a coalition of 39 countries that are among the most vulnerable to climate change. Among other things, Browne called for a crackdown on the fossil fuel industry’s continued monumental profits.

“The oil and gas industry continues to earn almost 3 billion United States dollars daily in profits,” he said. “It is about time that these companies are made to pay a global carbon tax on their profits as a source of funding for loss and damage. … While they are profiting, the planet is burning.”

World leaders have intervened beyond just speeches during the first few days of the annual talks. Famously, when the highly anticipated COP15 meeting in Copenhagen was teetering on the edge of failure in 2009, President Barack Obama traveled to Denmark on the conference’s last official day. Through a series of meetings with other leaders including those of India, Brazil and South Africa, the admittedly disappointing Copenhagen Accord did emerge.

Beyond that sort of skin-of-the-teeth intervention, though, many remain unconvinced that the parade of presidents and prime ministers offers much to the world.

“The COP has turned into a PR event, where leaders are giving beautiful speeches and announcing fancy commitments and targets, while behind the curtains governments of the Global North countries are still refusing to take any drastic climate action,” said climate activist Greta Thunberg during last year’s COP26 in Glasgow. “Change is not going to come from inside there. That is not leadership.”

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PC Clarence Gilkes

A man who was accused by police of murdering one of their colleagues but later deemed a witness in the death, was gunned down in Morvant on Sunday night.

Jehlano Romney, 30, was at a house at Poinsettia Drive at around 9.35 pm when a group of men shot him several times before running away.

Morvant police and homicide investigators visited the scene with a district medical officer who declared Romney dead.

In April a group of officers from the Western Division Task Force were on an exercise in Richplain Road, Diego Martin, when they confronted Romney.

During the incident PC Clarence Gilkes, who was part of the group of officers, was shot from behind.

Gilkes later died.

Romney fled the scene and was believed to be the prime suspect in Gilkes’ death, but a post mortem examination revealed Gilkes was killed by a police-issued bullet.

Romney surrendered to police with his attorney Criston J Williams one week after the shooting.

He was questioned and later released.

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African nations want to increase how much money they receive from schemes that offset greenhouse gas emissions and are looking for ways to address the issue at UN climate talks currently underway in Egypt.

Carbon offsets, where polluters can effectively cancel out their emissions by paying into initiatives such as tree-planting, are currently cheaper to purchase in Africa than in many other parts of the world where schemes are more strictly regulated.

African nations are looking to the climate talks to get a better price on the ‘carbon market’ to help achieve their own emissions reductions targets and move toward clean energy. The schemes have come under scrutiny by environmental groups who are concerned they are a free pass to keep polluting.

“We should look at carbon trading as an income tool for our developmental agenda,” Zambian environment minister Collins Nzovu told The Associated Press. “If we hurry into this market, we may lose our national heritage and give away at a low price that we will regret in future.”

In carbon trading, one credit issued equals one ton of carbon dioxide or another greenhouse gas equivalent removed from the atmosphere. The voluntary carbon market, which remains dominant in Africa, has been plagued by integrity and transparency concerns. Africa’s market currently sees the continent earning less than $10 per ton of carbon. Other regions can secure over $100 for the same amount in some instances.

Still, carbon credit schemes have recorded relative successes in Kenya, Tanzania and Congo.

The Ntakata Mountains Project in Tanzania, for example, has seen local communities now have more money to put in schools, community clinics and infrastructure. Similar success has been reported in Kenya’s Mikoko Pamoja project, as well as others dotted around the continent.

But efforts remain to make the industry more regulated, particularly in Africa.

“High-integrity carbon registries, which sustain a supply of high-quality and trustworthy credits that are tradable in the global exchange markets, are critical and will allow African countries to succeed in those processes,” said Antonio Pedro, the executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa.

Pedro added that significant support from developed countries, where the demand for such high-quality carbon credits will be required, is essential to regulating markets. But for the market to not push emissions up even further, there would need to be limitations on how companies can use carbon credits.

On Wednesday, US climate envoy John Kerry announced a controversial plan to encourage big businesses to tap into carbon markets, sparking concerns from environmental groups that it would give companies a license to keep emitting at higher rates. Kerry insisted that the credits would be “highly regulated” and there were multiple “guardrails against abuse,” including the types of firms able to buy them and how they can be used.

A study released at the UN summit on Saturday by the Africa Climate Policy Centre found that the continent stands a chance of limiting global warming to temperatures set in the Paris agreement if the price of a carbon credit is pegged at $120 per ton of carbon. That would rake in about $82 billion a year, the report found.

Experts say that for carbon markets to be effective at limiting warming, they have to have credibility.

“Carbon markets need to be cushioned in integrity as they bring benefits to both the investor and the communities. There have been bad experiences in the past. Integrity in carbon markets is key,” Pedro said.

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By WANJOHI KABUKURU Associated Press

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