PARTICIPANTS at a workshop on climate change last week criticised Caribbean governments for missing crucial conferences at which decisions are taken on actions to combat the problems associated with global warming.

According to the participants, Caribbean nations are good at preparing and presenting the technical information for these conferences, but are failing when the political leaders are needed to sign off on agreements to stem increasing global temperatures.

“They do an excellent job in the first week of the negotiations at the technical level. In the second week when all the deals are made, when we need to see our political directorate there, they’re absent,” said Dr Ulric Trotz, scientific adviser to the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC).

Jeffery Spooner, head of the climate branch at the Meteorological Service of Jamaica, concurred with Trotz.

“The negotiators are doing a very good job in negotiating climate change. But when it comes to crunch time, when the policymakers put the final touch to the negotiations, that is where as a region we are not well represented,” he said.

The men were among representatives of several non-governmental organisations, funding agencies and state agencies that participated in a three-day regional climate change forum under the theme, “Strengthen the voice of Caribbean civil society in response to climate change”, organised by Christian Aid in Kingston last week.

Christian Aid is a development charity of more that 40 protestant churches in the United Kingdom and Ireland, which aims to fight poverty and injustice among vulnerable people. It tackles issues such as climate change, HIV and AIDS, conflict, economic justice and good governance.

The workshop sought to, among other things, outline the roles of government, civil society and business in addressing climate change and to build consensus and momentum in preparation for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 15) set for Copenhagen, Denmark in December.

However, the Jamaican government and others in the region seem committed to tackling the problem of climate change at the highest level, based on a statement by the Deputy Prime Minister of Jamaica, Dr Kenneth Baugh.

“At the recent Caricom heads meeting in Belize, heads reaffirmed that regional policy makers at the highest possible level must play an active and visible role in the negotiating process which is mainly political in the build-up and at the (COP 15) which will design the new framework of commitments,” he said.

Baugh was speaking last Thursday at the University of the West Indies, Mona, 2009 commemoration dinner in honour of renowned atmospheric physicist, Professor Anthony Chen.