The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune News Editor

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip Davis is in Türkiye to pitch The Bahamas’ seagrass meadows to the world as a carbon store worth investing in.

He arrives at UN climate talks where small island states, among the countries most exposed to rising seas, say they receive only a sliver of the world’s climate finance.

Mr Davis is leading The Bahamas’ delegation to the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP31, in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya. Nearly 200 countries are meeting there until November 20.

On Wednesday, he is due to present The Bahamas Blue Carbon Programme at the CARICOM Pavilion and invite governments, investors and development partners to put money into it. He will also press for funded action on sea-level rise and fairer access to climate finance for small island developing states.

“Small island states are too often described only by what we stand to lose,” Mr Davis said. “The Bahamas goes to Antalya with something to offer. Our seagrass meadows hold carbon the world cannot afford to release, and we intend to protect them in ways partners can measure and invest in.”

The Bahamas holds the largest seagrass meadows of any nation, covering 53,657 square kilometres, according to the Office of the Prime Minister. The meadows store carbon, support the fisheries Bahamian families rely on and soften waves before they reach the shore. For the first time, Mr Davis will set out how the country is including its seagrass in its Nationally Determined Contribution, the climate plan each country submits under the Paris Agreement.

The government said it has committed $25m to the programme’s first phase. That covers national mapping, field verification and sampling, measurement and reporting, and initial conservation work. Bahamian field teams are working across 30 survey areas, from Grand Bahama and Abaco to the southern islands.

The goal is to turn that carbon into money. Under the Carbon Credit Trading Act 2022 and the Climate Change and Carbon Market Initiatives Act 2022, The Bahamas can trade carbon reductions with other countries under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, a mechanism that lets one nation pay another for verified cuts in emissions. Mr Davis will invite partners to begin talks on such deals, as well as scientific partnerships and future purchase arrangements. The government said the money raised would fund conservation and be shared with Bahamian communities.

The programme has been slow to deliver. In May 2024, then Economic Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis said The Bahamas could begin earning from seagrass carbon credits by the end of 2025. Two and a half years later, the programme is still in its first phase of mapping and verification. Last November, the government announced a $25m financing facility arranged by ArtCap Strategies to pay for the programme’s early stages, including mapping and scientific validation.

Mr Davis’s pitch comes as finance looms as the toughest fight in Antalya. On the opening day, Australian Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said too many countries with credible plans could not get climate finance at the speed, scale and terms they needed. Under an unusual deal, Mr Bowen is leading the negotiations while Türkiye hosts the conference.

Papua New Guinea’s Ruel Yamuna, appointed as the COP31 Pacific envoy on access to climate finance, said small island developing states face about half a trillion dollars in climate damages but receive just over $2bn a year to adapt. He said that was 0.2 percent of the climate finance pledged globally.

Countries are also expected to clash over a roadmap for moving away from fossil fuels, after talks failed to agree one at COP30 in Brazil last year, and over plans to triple adaptation finance. The conference will also launch the second global stocktake, a review of countries’ progress under the Paris Agreement due to conclude in 2028. Fewer world leaders are attending than at recent COPs.

On Thursday, Mr Davis will deliver The Bahamas’ national statement and call for climate finance that small island states can reach quickly and on fair terms. The same day, he will speak at a session on sea-level rise and coastal resilience that The Bahamas is co-hosting with Saint Kitts and Nevis. The President of the UN General Assembly will give the keynote, and the leaders of the Maldives and Tuvalu will also speak.

In September, the UN General Assembly adopted its first declaration on sea-level rise. The non-binding declaration affirms that countries do not lose their statehood or maritime zones if rising seas swallow their land. Mr Davis will press for it to be turned into funded action. For a low-lying archipelago like The Bahamas, rising seas threaten land, homes, livelihoods and heritage.

Three young Bahamians have joined the delegation: Youth Climate Ambassador Taylor Cargill, Male SDG Youth Ambassador Kenrick Stubbs and Female SDG Youth Ambassador Ava Richardson. They will take part in the Prime Minister’s programme and share what they learn with young people at home when they return.

“I have said that no one is coming to save us. We must save ourselves, and our young people will carry that work furthest,” Mr Davis said. “They will live longest with the decisions taken here, and they are already showing the leadership The Bahamas needs. They belong in this room.”

On Tuesday, Mr Davis met technical partners of the Blue Carbon Programme and senior leaders of the UN Environment Programme. The visit comes days after The Bahamas and Türkiye marked 52 years of diplomatic relations on November 5.

Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper is acting Prime Minister until Mr Davis returns on Friday, November 13.