Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I am pleased to participate in today’s Pre-COP 26 seminar organized by the United Nations and to outline plans by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago for the Green Economy Transition of Trinidad and Tobago.
The 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) will be convened in five days with a view to accelerating action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The Paris Agreement or COP21 was adopted in December 2015 and aimed to reduce the emission of gases that contribute to global warming. The Agreement set out to improve upon and replace the Kyoto Protocol, an earlier international treaty designed to curb the release of greenhouse gases. It entered into force on November 4, 2016, was signed by 195 countries and ratified by 190 countries, including Trinidad and Tobago, as of January 2021.