The CARICOM Private Sector Organisation (CPSO) is reaffirming its commitment to climate action, decarbonisation and the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as essential to the sustainable development of CARICOM Member States,

This was done during a high-level meeting involving the CPSO, CARICOM Heads of Government and the OECS Business Council, which was convened earlier this week on the margins of the 51st Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM in St. Lucia.

The meeting expressed broad support for a cautious regional approach to implementation of the IMO Net-Zero Framework, citing its disproportionate negative impacts on Small Island Developing States, consumers and the tourism industry, particularly the cruise sector. The framework aims to impose penalties on shipping failing to convert fleets to net-zero carbon-emitting fuels.

Participants endorsed extending the CPSO’s import-diversification work to quantify the import savings and wider economic benefits associated with the transition to renewable energy, with an update to be presented to the next Meeting of the Council for Finance and Planning (COFAP). To carry the agenda forward, the session agreed to establish Working Groups operating with predefined timelines and measurable deliverables, ensuring that the commitments arising from the session are implemented and monitored for accountability. 

Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee appointed

CPSO will work closely with the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) in this regard. Also, a Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee has been established to follow up on this structure. The session concluded with a shared determination that the Caribbean’s affordability challenge must be addressed through practical, time-bound and results-oriented action, and that the enduring partnership among governments, the private sector and organised labour will remain central to delivering meaningful benefits for the people of the Community. 

In closing, CPSO Chairman, Gervase Warner, thanked the Heads of Government and private sector representatives for their honest engagement and collaborative contributions, observing that the stage has been set for continuing collaboration among the private sector, Heads of Government and organised labour.

Warner committed the CPSO to following up on the delivery of the work programme identified during the session.