A core team of technical representatives from Antigua and Barbuda’s Department of Environment has arrived in Antalya, Türkiye, to kick off formal pre-conference negotiations ahead of the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31). On-ground delegates Arry Simon and Garth Simon are currently engaging in closed-door working sessions with hundreds of international climate stakeholders, ranging from national negotiating teams to multilateral agency officials and civil society advocacy groups, to hash out preliminary positions on high-stakes agenda items before the official World Leaders Summit and the full conference’s formal launch. These pre-COP convenings serve as a critical collaborative space for small island developing states (SIDS) like Antigua and Barbuda to align core negotiating priorities, build cross-regional consensus on unaddressed climate action gaps, and lay foundational agreements that will define the trajectory of the global climate agenda for the next two years. The full national delegation to COP31 will be led by Prime Minister Gaston Browne, who is scheduled to deliver a national address and participate in high-level bilateral and multilateral roundtables during the World Leaders Summit, where heads of state and government from across the globe will converge to make binding commitments on emissions reduction, loss and damage funding, and equitable climate action. Joining Prime Minister Browne in the official delegation is Michael Joseph, Minister of Health, Wellness, Environment and Civil Service Affairs, who will travel to the conference venue during the second half of the two-week summit. Minister Joseph has received a formal appointment from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to serve two pivotal regional leadership roles at COP31: he will lead the bloc’s entire engagement on climate science policy, and act as one of three CARICOM ministerial leads for global climate finance negotiations, serving alongside his counterparts from Barbados and Belize. In these dual capacities, Minister Joseph will coordinate cross-Caribbean alignment on the latest peer-reviewed climate science underpinning global action frameworks, and push for scaled, accessible, low-cost climate financing to support vulnerable low-lying nations on the frontlines of climate disaster. Rounding out Antigua and Barbuda’s official COP31 cohort are Ruleta Camacho-Thomas, national Climate Ambassador and Director of the Department of Environment, and Gita Nicholas, a senior technical official from the Department of Environment, who will support ongoing negotiating working groups across the full duration of the conference.
Antigua and Barbuda Environment Officials Participate in Pre-COP31 Sessions Ahead of Global Climate Summit
