As residents of St. Vincent and the Grenadines pick up the pieces following the destruction brought by Hurricane Beryl, the island chain’s president says the world needs to fix its attention on climate change.
“We are not serious about dealing with the issue of climate change. And when this earth becomes inhospitable, as it is increasingly becoming, then it will be too late,” said Ralph Gonsalves, prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, told As It Happens in an interview.
Beryl is the earliest Category 5 storm ever to form in the Atlantic, fuelled by record warm waters. Gonsalves says it has forced St. Vincent and the Grenadines to dip into its emergency fund much earlier than anticipated.
“These are harbingers of the future,” said Gonsalves.
Gonsalves spoke with As It Happens host Nil Köksal about what stronger storms mean for his country. Here’s part of that conversation.
Prime Minister Gonsalves, compared to when the storm hit at its hardest to what you’re experiencing now, how different is that?
Hugely different. This Category 4 hurricane, Hurricane Beryl, had its eye pass over the southern Grenadines. Our country is an archipelago. We have 32 islands, nine of which are inhabited, and the southernmost ones — Union Island, Mayreau, Canouan — the eye of the storm passed over those islands.
So there’s complete devastation in Union Island and Mayreau, and substantial loss in Canouan. And as it came up through the islands, past Bequia and then on to the main island of St. Vincent, we had horrendous damage. But the devastation is in the southern part of the island chain.
[On Union Island], 90 per cent of the houses [are gone], the hospital is gone. The airport’s building is gone. There’s nothing normal there now. We are sending food and water and other supplies. We are sending the Coast Guard to take out a few [people] who would have been injured. And we are trying to establish back normal communication.
What did you hear and see from where you were when it made landfall initially there?
We saw some videos. And right at the moment, the regional security system is going over, and they were doing the reconnaissance. But the reports coming out, it’s just devastation.
And as it came up to St. Vincent, we have hundreds of houses destroyed. Government buildings, schools, technical institutes, some police stations are inoperable. There’s devastation at the sea coast because, on the Atlantic side especially, there’s been tremendous erosion — well, there’s a constant erosion by the sea given global warming, but is made worse by this horrific storm.
We know this is happening earlier than ever. We know scientists point to climate change as the reason it is happening. What do you want the international community to take away from what you have all just experienced, and what others are going to experience?
The international community knows what we are experiencing in a small island, developing states and vulnerable countries.
They know they have to move to net zero, and they know they have to assist with resources for adaptation and mitigation. And you have a lot of talk from them, but you don’t see the resources.
And sometimes you get the impression that when you have the conference of parties, gatherings under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, sometimes you wonder if they’re just sending the fool a little further.
Wealthy countries responsible for where we’re at in terms of climate change pledged $700 million [US] to the new loss and damage fund to help countries like yours. What did you make of that amount and that promise?
There are two things about that. You can access the loss and damage fund only after you have had loss and damage. What about what happens before? So that’s the first point.
But you’re setting up a loss and damage fund. Fine. But then you have a puny sum pledged.
Look, in 2017, when Dominica was completely devastated by Hurricane Maria, what you have inside of the loss and damage fund now would have been insufficient to address Dominica’s loss and damage from one hurricane, Hurricane Maria. That’s how ludicrous this thing is.
We know Canada held a summit, the first of its kind, last October with Caribbean leaders to try to push Prime Minister Trudeau to get climate change funding on the international agenda. What specifically do you want from the Canadian government?
I want them to continue their serious advocacy. It is true that Justin Trudeau speaks about this matter with commitment, not just with passion, with commitment. And we appreciate that. And some resources have been put.
But I think everybody knows that far more can be done. And he has to get his neighbours to the south, if he can, help to persuade them. And of course, his European colleagues. And I’m not sure that is happening.
I wonder how you start to rebuild when you’re just at the start of this season…. Are you able to get help to the people who need it on Union Island and elsewhere?
We are doing that right now. As I speak, a boatload of supplies are going down and we have sent the Coast Guard and the medevac vessel to take injured persons out.
There are other medical personnel on the ground and we are doing what we can. We are small and we have limited resources, but we use these resources sensibly. We will survive and we will thrive.
When you look out, prime minister, at that erosion you described earlier in our conversation or now also see the devastation you’ve described because of what Beryl brought with it, what is the emotion that comes with that?
I tell you this, I can’t afford those emotions. I have to be patient and calm.
