Barbados’ PM tells COP29 humanity ‘hurtling towards catastrophe’

Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley urged world leaders Tuesday to commit to capitalising funds to aid in the mitigation of the global climate crisis. 

Speaking at the UN climate forum, COP29, in Baku, Mottley said this would be part of “collective” and “quantifiable” goals to address climate action. 

“We are in a season of superlatives, and the reality is that these extreme weather events that the world is facing daily suggests that humanity and the planet are hurtling towards catastrophe,” Mottley said during Tuesday’s speech. 

Barbados, an Island in the Caribbean, is considered vulnerable to extreme climatic events. 

Earlier this year, storm Beryl, a Category 5 Hurricane, hurled through multiple island countries, leaving devastation as it passed. 

Mottley used Beryl to exemplify that the Loss and Damage Fund remains “underfunded,” despite the calls from multiple developing nations affected by the storm.