Minister Michael Joseph Selected to Lead CARICOM Negotiations on Climate Finance and Science at COP31

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has formally unveiled its dedicated cohort of senior regional government ministers tapped to steer high-stakes negotiations on core climate action priorities during the 31st session of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP31), set to take place November 9 through 20, 2026 in Antalya, Türkiye. Leading the bloc’s work on two of the most technically and strategically critical negotiation streams – Climate Finance and Science – is the Honourable Michael Joseph, Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of Health, Wellness, Environment and Civil Service Affairs. Joseph’s appointment marks a formal recognition of Antigua and Barbuda’s longstanding leadership in regional climate advocacy, as CARICOM works to accelerate tangible progress on global climate action, scale community and infrastructure resilience across island nations, and unlock the targeted financial and technical scientific support required to mitigate the unique, disproportionate climate vulnerabilities facing Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The full cross-regional ministerial negotiation roster distributes CARICOM’s top priority negotiating portfolios across seasoned regional leaders to ensure targeted, coordinated representation: Dominica’s Hon. Cozier Frederick and Jamaica’s Hon. Matthew Samuda will lead talks on Adaptation; Samuda will join Barbados’ Hon. Marsha Caddle to head negotiations on the Cover Decision; Caddle will partner with Belize’s Hon. Orlando Habet on core Finance streams beyond Joseph’s dedicated science-linked finance portfolio; St. Kitts and Nevis’ Senator the Hon. Dr. Joyelle Clarke will steer engagement for the Global Stocktake and Just Transition agenda items; Caddle will team up with Saint Lucia’s Hon. Lisa Jawahir to lead negotiations on Loss and Damage, a longstanding top demand for climate-vulnerable island states; and Habet will work alongside Suriname’s H.E. Patrick Loys Brunings to oversee discussions on global carbon and climate markets. In a formal pre-COP31 position statement, CARICOM has laid out its core non-negotiable goals for the 2026 summit: a balanced, highly ambitious, action-oriented final outcome that preserves the critical 1.5°C global temperature warming threshold, advances global climate justice frameworks, and guarantees that the distinct needs and special contextual circumstances of SIDS are not sidelined in broader global climate agreements.