PM Gaston Browne speaks at Global Citizens Festival in Central Park, New York

Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne was one of the main speakers at the annual Global Citizens Festival on the evening of September 24, 2022, in Central Park, New York, on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

Prime Minister Browne made a speech on Climate Change and Loss and Damage, which he highlighted in his country’s statement at the UNGA on Friday.

Prime Minister Browne reached at approximately 6:25 pm local time on the concert stage featuring international artists, including Usher Charlie Puth, Mariah Carey, and Metallica, with hundreds of thousands attending and witnessing online.

During his presentation at the UNGA on Friday, Prime Minister Browne outlined that although collectively, SIDS contribute the least to CO2 emissions, they are the greatest victims, not only because of unattended loss and damage to lives and livelihoods, but also because of the very existence of countries is fatally endangered.

“The effects of global warming are universal; they reach every country. But we all must understand that, as much as global warming is universal, its damaging effects are not the same; the burden falls mostly on the poor in small developing nations, such as mine,” PM Browne stated.

He said as Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, he will continue to stand up for the rights of the country’s people, including their right to livelihoods and life.

“My voice cannot be stilled while danger gathers in the skies above my small and vulnerable country. I have no choice but to fight unrelentingly for climate justice,” PM Browne concluded.