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PM calls for removal from EU’s blacklist amid climate threats

Thu, Jul 27th 2023, 03:22 PM
Environment Politics

Deandre Williamson
Journal Staff Writer

In the midst of increasing climate threats, Prime Minister Philip Davis made a clarion call to the European Union (EU) to remove The Bahamas from its blacklist because blacklisting is “indefensible” and “immoral.”

“Take your economic feet off our necks,” Davis told EU leaders on July 18 during his contribution to the Plenary Session of the Third EU-CELAC Summit in Brussels, Belgium.

“The EU has placed us on a blacklist, using criteria which are unfairly applied to us, and not to European jurisdictions or those in developed countries. What is done in Delaware, North Dakota, and in territories of the European Union is little different to what is done by us,” Davis said.

Blacklisting by the EU has become a major concern for Small Island Developing States in Caribbean, like The Bahamas, that are experiencing the effects of climate change and have accumulated debt because of natural disasters caused by the climate crisis.

According to Davis, The Bahamas has achieved higher compliance standards than all but one EU country, but the goalposts have been frequently moved, and the penalties stiffened.

“This means that, when it comes to insurance, for example, any remittances from European reinsurers as a result of claims, are automatically reduced by 25 percent. Twenty-five percent of the monies owed is punitively retained by the EU, and we are the poorer for it and less able to rebuild for it,” Davis explained.

He pointed out that missions, diplomats and nationals employed in Bahamian missions abroad are having their bank accounts closed, or are unable to open bank accounts.

“What is the message? Are we to close our missions? And if so, how do we strengthen relationships and promote multilateralism between our countries?” the prime minister asked. “The blacklisting is indefensible, and it is immoral – remove us from it now.”

However, the prime minister believes a country as small as The Bahamas can grow strong enough to face climate threats if the EU can act immediately to not only remove The Bahamas from the blacklist, but support the country’s efforts to insure itself and act on commitments that have already been made to countries like The Bahamas.

“Our region is close to becoming uninsurable. The cost of insurance has spiralled upwards for years, and that is for those who are deemed insurable in the first place,” Davis said.

“We want to develop our own local insurance market to meet the needs of our people, a form of reinsurance. But our economies are weighed down by debt, an extraordinary percentage of which is directly or indirectly the result of loss and damage from hurricanes made more intense by the climate crisis.

“We are caught in a vicious cycle of damage, repair and rebuild. Without the ability to insure, we cannot rebuild. But, if you in the EU capitalize our self-insurance offering for our most vulnerable, say, for $100 million, we can do it ourselves.”

A 2022 Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Damage and Loss Assessment on Hurricanes Joaquin, Matthew, Irma and Dorian indicated that The Bahamas has lost over $4.2 billion due to various hydrometeorological events in the past seven years.

According to the IDB assessment, the tourism sector, the primary economic engine of the county, has seen losses of approximately $1.2 billion in the past seven years due to disasters.

The report added that damage to the housing sector for the four hurricanes swelled a staggering $1.9 billion and Hurricane Dorian was the costliest disaster totaling $3.4 billion in damage.

In another recently released IDB report, it was indicated that over the past 20 years The Bahamas has suffered almost triple the amount of hurricane-related losses and damages when compared to other Caribbean countries.

“The economic damage caused by climate-related hazards in The Bahamas, as a percentage of GDP, is higher than in other countries in the Caribbean region. Thus, the total damage from disasters in The Bahamas from 2002 to 2022 (over $6.7 billion) is equivalent to more than 50 percent of the country’s economy in 2015. Conversely, values for Jamaica and Barbados are 17 percent and 2 percent, respectively,” the IDB report said.

However, Davis told EU leaders that if the EU delivers on just 20 percent of what it has promised, The Bahamas can save itself.

“We need this for mitigation and remediation of our shorelines to make our countries more resilient to hurricanes and environmental disasters. We must protect ourselves from the changing climate caused by your carbon emissions. Liability attaches to your activities, that cannot be disputed,” he explained.

“We know how we got here. The infrastructure, architecture and foundational wealth of your great cities and towns were built using the raw material taken from our countries and the enslaved labour of our ancestors. Now the industrialization which made your nations wealthy threatens our lives and livelihood.

“We are not asking for handouts. We are not asking for favours. We simply want to live.”

Deandre Williamson
Journal Staff Writer
In the midst of increasing climate threats, Prime Minister Philip Davis made a clarion call to the European Union (EU) to remove The Bahamas from its blacklist because blacklisting is “indefensible” and “immoral.”
“Take your economic feet off our necks,” Davis told EU leaders on July 18 during his contribution to the Plenary Session of the Third EU-CELAC Summit in Brussels, Belgium.
“The EU has placed us on a blacklist, using criteria which are unfairly applied to us, and not to European jurisdictions or those in developed countries. What is done in Delaware, North Dakota, and in territories of the European Union is little different to what is done by us,” Davis said.
Blacklisting by the EU has become a major concern for Small Island Developing States in Caribbean, like The Bahamas, that are experiencing the effects of climate change and have accumulated debt because of natural disasters caused by the climate crisis.
According to Davis, The Bahamas has achieved higher compliance standards than all but one EU country, but the goalposts have been frequently moved, and the penalties stiffened.
“This means that, when it comes to insurance, for example, any remittances from European reinsurers as a result of claims, are automatically reduced by 25 percent. Twenty-five percent of the monies owed is punitively retained by the EU, and we are the poorer for it and less able to rebuild for it,” Davis explained.
He pointed out that missions, diplomats and nationals employed in Bahamian missions abroad are having their bank accounts closed, or are unable to open bank accounts.
“What is the message? Are we to close our missions? And if so, how do we strengthen relationships and promote multilateralism between our countries?” the prime minister asked. “The blacklisting is indefensible, and it is immoral – remove us from it now.”
However, the prime minister believes a country as small as The Bahamas can grow strong enough to face climate threats if the EU can act immediately to not only remove The Bahamas from the blacklist, but support the country’s efforts to insure itself and act on commitments that have already been made to countries like The Bahamas.
“Our region is close to becoming uninsurable. The cost of insurance has spiralled upwards for years, and that is for those who are deemed insurable in the first place,” Davis said.
“We want to develop our own local insurance market to meet the needs of our people, a form of reinsurance. But our economies are weighed down by debt, an extraordinary percentage of which is directly or indirectly the result of loss and damage from hurricanes made more intense by the climate crisis.
“We are caught in a vicious cycle of damage, repair and rebuild. Without the ability to insure, we cannot rebuild. But, if you in the EU capitalize our self-insurance offering for our most vulnerable, say, for $100 million, we can do it ourselves.”
A 2022 Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Damage and Loss Assessment on Hurricanes Joaquin, Matthew, Irma and Dorian indicated that The Bahamas has lost over $4.2 billion due to various hydrometeorological events in the past seven years.
According to the IDB assessment, the tourism sector, the primary economic engine of the county, has seen losses of approximately $1.2 billion in the past seven years due to disasters.
The report added that damage to the housing sector for the four hurricanes swelled a staggering $1.9 billion and Hurricane Dorian was the costliest disaster totaling $3.4 billion in damage.
In another recently released IDB report, it was indicated that over the past 20 years The Bahamas has suffered almost triple the amount of hurricane-related losses and damages when compared to other Caribbean countries.
“The economic damage caused by climate-related hazards in The Bahamas, as a percentage of GDP, is higher than in other countries in the Caribbean region. Thus, the total damage from disasters in The Bahamas from 2002 to 2022 (over $6.7 billion) is equivalent to more than 50 percent of the country’s economy in 2015. Conversely, values for Jamaica and Barbados are 17 percent and 2 percent, respectively,” the IDB report said.
However, Davis told EU leaders that if the EU delivers on just 20 percent of what it has promised, The Bahamas can save itself.
“We need this for mitigation and remediation of our shorelines to make our countries more resilient to hurricanes and environmental disasters. We must protect ourselves from the changing climate caused by your carbon emissions. Liability attaches to your activities, that cannot be disputed,” he explained.
“We know how we got here. The infrastructure, architecture and foundational wealth of your great cities and towns were built using the raw material taken from our countries and the enslaved labour of our ancestors. Now the industrialization which made your nations wealthy threatens our lives and livelihood.
“We are not asking for handouts. We are not asking for favours. We simply want to live.”
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