PHILIP EDWARD DAVIS, Prime Minister of the Bahamas, called for equitable distribution of vaccines, including to small island developing States, which are not manufacturers.  It is also important to make safe treatments and therapeutics accessible and to designate them as public goods, he said.  Recalling the devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian in 2019, he urged States to raise their ambitions and make real commitments to cut emissions at COP26 in Glasgow.  That entails real progress on bridging the gaps in investment and access to technology and skills, especially in the areas of climate mitigation and adaptation, he said, emphasizing the need for more innovative financing and debt solutions, including for climate adaptation swaps.

He said his country looks forward to the capitalization of a Caribbean Resilience Fund, adding that the Bahamas needs adequate resources and timely access to the Green Climate Fund and the Climate Finance Accelerator.  Asserting that his country will lead on wetland and ocean preservation, he said it will seek re-election to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and looks forward to the Biodiversity Conference next month, stressing that the Bahamas is committed to outcomes leading to an international treaty on conserving marine biodiversity.  He went on to point out the increasing gap in global financing for meeting the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, estimated at $2.5 trillion in 2019, and reiterated his country’s support for the inclusion of a multidimensional vulnerability index in the decision-making of international financial institutions and the international donor community.