London/Nassau, 11 May 2022 (TDI): The Commonwealth Secretariat held the third Malborough House Dialogues. The dialogue was held to discuss the importance of climate action within the Commonwealth.

Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland and the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Philip Brave Davis participated in the meeting.

It is a new forum for discussion as well as dialogue with political leaders together with thinkers from inside the Commonwealth.

The discussions focused on Commonwealth Leadership on climate action for the Small Island Developing States (SIDSs).

Prime Minister Davis stated that the Commonwealth is supposed to be a loud voice concerning the action on climate to bring awareness.

“We cannot do this alone. We are in an inequitable position on climate change so it is important that the Commonwealth lends its voice.

And the time has come that the voice is turned up to ensure that we get the proper response from the world on this existential threat,” said the Prime Minister of Bahamas.

In addition, he stated that access to climate funding is one area that needs to be tackled intensely. The discussions are important following the upcoming CHOGM in Rwanda and preparations for COP27 in Egypt.

SIDSs still experience impacts of climate change that are detrimental. Therefore, there is limited economic space to guard themselves and secure their efforts of resilience.

Since 1989, leaders committed to protecting the environment in the Langkawi Declaration. Therefore, the Commonwealth family continues to push forward for collective climate action.

This is viewed as one of the world’s first collective declarations specifying greenhouse gas emissions as part of the leading problems on the planet.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that the small island nations are increasingly impacted by climate change effects.