BASSETERRE, St Kitts – The Government of St Kitts and Nevis joined its allies in Hamburg, Germany, from 7-10 October 2024 for the Hamburg Sustainability Conference to further accelerate the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals Agenda 2030 and to urgently deliver solutions.
The conference welcomed heads of state, leaders from civil society, academia, the private sector and international organisations, all with the common goal of advancing sustainable development to address global challenges such as hunger, poverty and climate change.
Senator the Hon Dr Joyelle Clarke, Minister with responsibility for the Ministry of Sustainable Development et al., participated in several key events, including high-level panel discussions, bilateral meetings and critical sessions.
On the opening day, Senator Clarke participated in a high-level event that featured an opening panel with Barbados’ Prime Minister, Mia Motley; The Head of World Bank, Ajay Banga; The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva; Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz all weighing in on adaptation, finance, and what needs to be done to move towards sustainability.
Senator Clarke, featured in a panel titled, “Achieving sustainable cities of the future: challenges and strategies”, spoke on some steps taken toward becoming a more sustainable city, leveraging partnerships with regional and global organisations to accelerate Basseterre’s transition to a more sustainable future, estimation of how city-wide sustainability initiatives are implemented in comparison to larger metropolitan areas, and actions that can serve as blueprints or that can be adapted in other island cities in the areas of sustainable tourism, renewable energy/geothermal energy.
Later, she presented the vision on “Introducing St. Kitts and Nevis and the Sustainable Island State Agenda” and how St Kitts and Nevis is working towards Pillar 4, Sustainable Cities and Settlements.
Dr Clarke told the conference the national vision to transition Saint Kitts and Nevis into a fully sustainable island state by 2040 will be implemented through an interconnected seven-pillar system that represents and addresses the Federation’s most climate-vulnerable sectors.
She said, “These are the engines that will drive us toward a Saint Kitts and Nevis where reliable, affordable and clean energy powers our homes, where our local farmers can grow a significant portion of the food we consume and sell in our local groceries; where our economic growth can be fueled by circularity and zero waste; where our sectors are diverse and resilient; where our homes and workspaces are designed to withstand the negative impacts of climate change.”
Further on, during a Bilateral with Rwanda’s Prime Minister, Dr Édouard Ngirente, technical cooperation and deepening the relationship between Rwanda and St Kitts and Nevis were the focus. Specifically, how St Kitts and Nevis can benefit from Rwanda’s advanced Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) program that certifies up to the master’s level, this follows discussions from the 4th Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4) held earlier this year in Antigua, that included TVET policy review and development, capacity building, and promoting accreditation of TVET qualifications on the regional and international level.
Throughout the week-long conference, themes such as New Technologies and AI, Green Energy and Net Zero, Biodiversity and the Environment, Sustainable Cities and Mobility emerged.