UNITED NATIONS, United Nations (CMC) — Barbados on Tuesday called on the international community to do more to deal with the impact of climate change noting that the situation in Texas where Hurricane Harvey caused widespread damage last week underscored the need to pay careful attention to climate change.

Addressing a high level meeting on “The Effective Implementation of the New Urban Agenda” at the United Nations, Barbados’ Minister of Housing, Denis Kellman said careful attention must be paid to the impacts of climate change when planning for the implementation of the new urban agenda.

“The frequency of occurrence of this and other types of natural disasters is a sobering reminder to each of us gathered here, in particularly those of us who are from Small Island Developing States, that we need to factor in, and pay careful attention to the impacts of climate change in our planning,” he said, making reference to the situation in Texas.

He said Barbados, as a signatory to the New Urban Agenda, had put measures in place to ensure its effective implementation, including amendments to the Physical Development Plan to ensure that development on the island continued to be “progressive, orderly and sustainable”.

“My government is committed to the promotion of inclusive settlements that are accessible, safe, healthy, affordable, resilient, sustainable and foster prosperity and improved quality of life for all Barbadians.”

He said the government has also sought to encourage developers to locate housing for seniors close to amenities and services to meet daily needs, promoted the development of new housing which was fully accessible to people with disabilities, and continued to require that new developments and significant renovations in public spaces be accessible to all.