U.S. oil refinery  profits soar 

Kevin Crowley 6/16/2022(Bloomberg)

Exxon Mobil Corp., Marathon Petroleum Corp. and the other top U.S. oil refiners are on course to reap a combined $10 billion in profits this quarter even as U.S. President Joe Biden lambasts the industry for closing plants.

With little prospect for any near-term boost in gasoline output, the bonanza will go on for years, barring an economic crash, JPMorgan Chase & Co. said Fuel supplies already are so tight that any surprise hiccup in the system, such as a hurricane that rakes Gulf Coast refineries, could force rationing. .

With U.S. consumers paying a record $5 for a gallon of gasoline and sky-high diesel prices bleeding through the rest of the supply chain, Biden  pivoted from blaming  Putin’s war on Ukraine to accusing domestic refiners of gouging and profiteering.  Just days after Biden asserted that Exxon is making “more money than God,” his emissaries fanned out to press the case that something suspect is going on with fuel production and pricing.

“The last time oil was $120 a barrel the cost at the pump was $4.25 a gallon, now it’s nearly $5 a gallon,” Bharat Ramamurti, deputy director of the National Economic Council, told Bloomberg TV. “Where’s that difference coming from? It’s coming from refiners and the huge margins that they’re racking up.”

 Ramamurti’s boss at the NEC, Brian Deese, urged  refiners to restart the million barrels of daily production capacity that was taken down during the pandemic. In meetings with the chief executives of Exxon, Chevron Corp. and other companies, Deese sought to “understand what it would take for them to increase production in the near term.” 

To be clear, Exxon and Chevron actually increased fuel-making capacity during the pandemic. Exxon has been in “regular contact with President Biden and his staff on how ExxonMobil has been investing more than any other company to develop US oil and gas supplies,” the company said.

Exxon invested through the recent energy-market collapse to increase daily refining capacity by 250,000 barrels, equivalent to building a new, mid-size refinery.  The Texas oil giant  urged  the government to waive some fuel specifications, ease shipping restrictions and develop “clear and consistent” policies to promote US drilling.

Mothballed Plants

Across the sector, nationwide refining capacity declined by about 5% as aging plants were converted to renewable-fuel complexes, or mothballed because it would cost too much to modernize them.

Lyondell Basell Industries NV plans to shutter its century-old plant along the Houston Ship Channel after a years-long, unsuccessful search for a buyer. A fire this week that forced the company to reduce crude processing demonstrated the danger in operating old equipment and the fragility of the supply stream.

Exxon, a bellwether for the industry because of its size and scope, is forecast by analysts to post the second-highest earnings in the company’s modern history due to surging prices for oil, natural gas, chemicals and fuel. Its US refining business is expected to generate record returns during the current quarter —  50% more than the previous nine periods combined.

“We see above average refining margins for multiple years, absent the recession scenario” JPMorgan analyst Phil Gresh said. “With low product inventories and minimal spare capacity, a severe hurricane could lead to a pretty bad outcome. A rationing scenario is not out of the question.” 

Marathon confirmed receipt of Biden’s letter and said it’s looking forward to speaking with administration officials.

For an industry that was almost crushed by the pandemic-driven slump in consumption and prices, the outlook has been transformed by an improbable confluence of soaring demand, geopolitical turmoil and supply restrictions that are not easily or quickly reversed.

In normal times, the gap between US fuel output and demand would be filled by imports. Sanctions against Russia and PRC  protectionist stance on petroleum exports  contributed to a global squeeze. One measure of American refining profits surged to almost $61 a barrel this month, a three-fold increase from the beginning of the year.  Top US refiners — Marathon, Valero Energy Corp., Phillips 66, Exxon and Chevron —  are expected to make a record $10.4 billion this quarter, according to Bloomberg.

Even more staggering: this will exceed previous records that included one offs such as the impact of former President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax reform and  Marathon’s massive sale of the Speedway retail chain. All five stocks are up more than 40% this year, compared with the 22% slide in the S&P 500 Index.

Windfall Tax

Booming returns have drawn the ire of Democrats such as Oregon Senator Ron Wyde, threatening the industry with a 21% surtax on profits deemed to be excessive. Despite the waterfall of cash, refiners almost certainly will never build another US plant, according to Chevron CEO Mike Wirth. The cost, regulatory challenges and long-term risk of sweeping policy changes would doom any such project

“You’re looking at committing capital 10 years out, that will need decades to offer a return for shareholders, in a policy environment where governments around the world  don’t want these products. “We’re receiving mixed signals in these policy discussions.”

 

 

API unveils  policy plan 

Craig Fleming, Technical Editor,

World Oil 6/14/2022

WASHINGTON D.C. — The American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday released a “10 in 2022 plan”—10 policies that policymakers can advance today to unlock American energy, fuel economic recovery, and strengthen national security. As energy costs and geopolitical instability around the world continue to rise, API is calling on policymakers to confront the global mismatch between energy demand and available supply that has driven higher fuel prices by supporting greater U.S. production and infrastructure.
Sommers

“America is blessed with abundant energy resources that are the envy of the world,” said API President and CEO Mike Sommers. “Given today’s global unrest and economic uncertainty, American energy is a long-term strategic asset that can advance our national and economic security. “These ‘10 in 2022’ policies are a framework for new energy leadership for our nation, unleashing investment in America and creating new energy access while avoiding harmful government policies and duplicative regulation. It’s time to lead.”

In a letter to President Biden, Sommers highlighted the economic importance of American oil and natural gas resources, supporting more than 11 million U.S. jobs, investing billions in the U.S. economy, and powering “our way of life.” He urged the administration to act immediately to implement the 10 policies that support energy investment, create new access and keep government policies from unnecessarily restricting energy growth.

Here are the 10 actions that policymakers can take right now:

1. Lift development restrictions on federal lands and waters. The Department of the Interior (DOI) should swiftly issue a 5-year program for the Outer Continental Shelf and hold mandated, quarterly, onshore lease sales with equitable terms. DOI should reinstate canceled sales and valid leases on federal lands and waters.
2. Designate critical energy infrastructure projects. Congress should authorize critical energy infrastructure projects to support the production, processing and delivery of energy. These projects would be of such concern to the national interest that they would be entitled to undergo a streamlined review and permitting process not to exceed one year.
3. Fix the NEPA permitting process. The Biden administration should revise the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process by establishing agency uniformity in reviews, limiting reviews to two years, and reducing bureaucratic burdens placed on project proponents in terms of size and scope of application submissions.
4. Accelerate LNG exports and approve pending LNG applications. Congress should amend the Natural Gas Act to streamline the Department of Energy (DOE) to a single approval process for all U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects. DOE should approve pending LNG applications to enable the U.S. to deliver reliable energy to our allies abroad.
5. Unlock investment and access to capital. The Securities and Exchange Commission should reconsider its overly burdensome and ineffective climate disclosure proposal. The Biden administration should ensure open capital markets, where access is based upon individual company merit free from artificial constraints, based on government-preferred investment allocations.
6. Dismantle supply chain bottlenecks. President Biden should rescind steel tariffs that remain on imports from U.S. allies, as steel is a critical component of energy production, transportation, and refining. The Biden administration should accelerate efforts to relieve port congestion, so that equipment necessary for energy development can be delivered and installed.
7. Advance lower-carbon energy tax provisions. Congress should expand and extend Section 45Q tax credits for carbon capture, utilization, and storage development and create a new tax credit for hydrogen produced from all sources.
8. Protect competition in the use of refining technologies. The Biden administration should ensure that future federal agency rulemakings continue to allow U.S. refineries to use the existing critical process technologies to produce the fuels needed for global energy markets.
9. End permitting obstruction on natural gas projects. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should cease efforts to overstep its permitting authority under the Natural Gas Act and should adhere to traditional considerations of public needs, as well as focus on direct impacts arising from the construction and operation of natural gas projects.
10. Advance the energy workforce of the future. Congress and the Biden administration should support the training and education of a diverse workforce through increased funding of work-based learning and advancement of STEM programs to nurture the skills necessary to construct and operate oil, natural gas and other energy infrastructure.

“While members of your administration have recently discussed the need for additional supplies to solve the energy crisis, your administration has restricted oil and natural gas development, canceled energy infrastructure projects, imposed regulatory uncertainty and proposed new tax increases on American oil and gas producers competing globally. Respectfully, the American people need a different direction to solve this crisis,” Sommers continued in his letter to President Biden.

“API’s ‘10 in 2022 Plan’ outlined above offers this new direction,” emphasized Sommers. “The plan has the potential to lead to an era of collaboration between the government and the private sector to meet our growing energy needs and to provide a measure of relief for the American people. We request the opportunity to work with your administration to help maintain the United States’ essential leadership position in the world.”

 

 

Oil Industry Responds 

Rigzone Staff
June 16, 2022

 

Venezuela’s Oil For Europe, But Not For the U.S.

The same inevitability marks the attempts to reach out to President Nicolas Maduro’s regime in Venezuela.

The country has faced heavy U.S. sanctions for over 15 years, including those on oil sales imposed by former President Donald Trump in response to Maduro’s growing authoritarianism. In May, Biden allowed Chevron to open talks with Maduro’s government, lifting sanctions that have paused such discussions, in exchange for the Venezuelan president’s commitment to open a dialogue with the political opposition.

“It’s not so much a straightforward trade for giving relief to a dictator in exchange for oil,” David Smilde, a senior fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America  said.

“A policy change has been needed for quite some time. The problem here is that this policy of sanctions did not bring Maduro’s government down, like the Trump administration thought it would happen, it actually seems to have undermined the opposition even more.”

An overture to Venezuela was met with hostility by both Democrats and Republicans, who  condemned any attempt at engaging with Maduro’s regime. The oil embargo  remains in place, although the U.S.  recently allowed Italy’s Eni and Spain’s Repsol to resume oil-for-debt swaps, officially halted in 2020 by Trump. Since then, Venezuela has continued selling its oil, thanks to help from Iran and Russia, to China. Maduro has stayed in power, proving wrong Trump’s prediction that the sanctions would overturn the leader.

Easing sanctions on Venezuela without promoting democratic reforms in the country might be perilous for the U.S., even more than cozying up to the Saudi Crown Prince—and the opposition such a move  met in the U.S. suggests the situation will not  change.

Ultimately, neither Saudi Arabia or Venezuela are likely to be able to put enough oil on the market to bring down prices quickly enough to counteract sliding Russian oil output.

 

 

Caribbean Development Bank  

NEWS RELEASE June 16, 2022

AfDB President:

Food, Energy and Health Security are Priorities for the Caribbean and Africa to Overcome Mutual Global Challenges

June 16, 2022, Turks and Caicos Islands – Food security, energy security and health security are among the key building blocks needed to overcome the current global challenges which threaten to stymie development on both the African continent and in the Caribbean region.

President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, shared this view as well as lessons for the Caribbean from the AfDB’s experiences, in delivering the 2022 William G Demas Memorial Lecture.    The lecture, ‘Development in a Context of Global Challenges: Experiences and Lessons from the African Development Bank’, was part of the Caribbean Development Bank’s (CDB) 52nd Annual Meeting,  held in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

With the   pandemic and the  Russia-Ukraine conflict negatively impacting energy prices, global supply chains and food security, Dr Adesina outlined how the AfDB  responded and continues to respond to these challenges.  The  COVID-19 experience  shone a light on vaccine nationalism, overconcentration of capacity and inequities in global supply. He noted the negative impact,  stating:

“the global system of COVAX designed to provide vaccines for the developing countries failed developing countries.”

“The vaccination rate in low-income developing countries is only 16% compared to over 80% for developed economies. While the developed economies were coasting to economic recovery on the back of booster shots, African countries,  countries in the Caribbean and other low-income developing countries, were struggling to get basic shots.”

He ignored the timing of the disease which spread in boreal regions first.  Intellectual property rights battles at the World Trade Organisation over Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) related to vaccines,  created an impasse which he said, “endangers lives at the expense of profits for pharmaceutical companies.”

He ignored  cost,    aid-addiction  and the need for profits   to invest. in production.
In response, the AfDB is developing an African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation to provide IPR protection so that pharmaceutical companies can deliver vaccine manufacturing technology, knowledge and processes to pharmaceutical companies in Africa. :

“Africa should no longer outsource the health security of its 1.3 billion (people) to the benevolence of others. And neither should the Caribbean.” Africa abounds in resources which PRC is controlling by bribing despots and which  corrupt regimes mismanage to fund conflict.

On  food security, the AfDB President claimed that in both the Caribbean and Africa, the negative impacts of climate change are felt in the agricultural sector and this, combined with looming shortages prompted by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, threatens food security. Almost 300 million were hungry due to  war, disease,  crime and tyranny before the Europe conflict.

The Bank’s Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation(TAAT) programme  helped deliver climate smart seeds to farmers in several  countries  which were  able to get ahead of current wheat shortages. Under the TAAT programme, Sudan reduced wheat importation by 50% in two years, while Ethiopia  cut wheat imports altogether.

The AfDB  approved the $1.5 billion African Emergency Food Production Facility to help advance food security in the face of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.  “We all agreed it is time to support Africa to produce its food. It is time to have food sovereignty.

The same must apply to the Caribbean. A recent survey by CARICOM and the World Food
Program shows that food insecurity has increased by 72% among the population of the English  speaking Caribbean countries, Food aid cannot feed Africa. Food aid cannot feed the Caribbean. Africa and the Caribbean need seeds in the ground and mechanical harvesters to harvest bountiful food produced locally.” 

Abounding in fertile soil, plains, hills,  rivers, forests and seas, Caricom citizens eschew labour-intensive  food production and regimes neglect investment in agriculture and water resources, preferring to import food which it can easily produce.

On  energy security, the AfDB President insisted the priorities must be to “ensure access and affordability of electricity… Second, there must be security of supply.”

AfDB’s investment in renewable energy, include the $20 billion Desert-to-Power initiative in Africa’s Sahelian zone,  set to become the world’s largest solar zone. This  long-overdue project can electrify the continent and drive progress and development with RE.

He also lauded the efforts of the Caribbean in pursuing renewable energy, noting:
“The Caribbean region also has significant potential in renewable energy, and I applaud the efforts being made to unlock the potential. From the 50 MW El Soco Solar farm, worth $90 million, to Barbados’ plan to construct this year a $25 million, 10 MW solar plant located in Mangrove, St. Philip, to using wave energy to develop a 40 MW ocean commercial power park, to Jamaica’s plans to develop electric car charging stations, and the microgrid energy systems being developed by the British Virgin Islands.”

 

 

Energy crisis prompts fossil fuel ‘gold rush’

 9 June 2022

The world is witnessing a “gold rush” for new fossil fuel projects, according to a new report by leading climate change researchers.   Soaring energy prices spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have led to new investment in oil and gas.  A report by Climate Action Tracker (CAT) says the world risks being locked into “irreversible warming”. 

There is broad consensus that the emission of gases produced by fossil fuels must be dramatically cut by 2030.  That is seen as the only path that would keep global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees and avoid the most damaging effects of climate change.

“There seems to be really a gold rush for new fossil fuel infrastructure,” Professor Niklas Höhne of NewClimate Institute, a CAT partner, told BBC News. “Supposedly it helps with short-term energy supply, but new infrastructure once it’s built will be there for decades and we will definitely miss the climate targets,” he said.

Russian gas
The report comes as diplomats meet at the UN Bonn Climate Change conference amid new, energy security worries. US envoy on climate change John Kerry warned in a BBC interview ahead of the conference that the war in Ukraine must not be used as an excuse to prolong global reliance on coal. He criticised a number of large countries for not living up to the promises they made at the COP26 climate summit in 2021.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine most Western countries have sought to reduce or completely stop buying Russian fossil fuels.  Many have announced more ambitious targets for transitioning to renewable energy sources like wind and solar, while also seeking non-Russian sources of gas and oil.

Climate Action Tracker (CAT) says new liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities are now proposed in Germany, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands and Canada. The US, Qatar, Egypt and Algeria have all signed deals to export LNG to different parts of the EU, while gas projects are being revived in west Africa.

 

Poland’s PM pushes for more coal to lower heating costs 

Associated Press, 9 June 2022

WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s prime minister vowed  to support higher production at the nation’s coal mines in order to bring down heating and energy prices that have soared amid the war in neighbouring Ukraine and the European Union’s efforts to reduce its dependency on Russian energy sources.

However, the pledge that Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki made in parliament goes against Poland’s climate change obligations and the gradual steps it is taking to reduce the production and use of coal in order to fight global warming. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and EU bans on some Russian energy sources have led to sudden shortages of coal and accelerated the rise of fuel prices. Governments across Europe are looking for other sources of fuel and energy.

The cost of coal has gone up 100% in Poland in the past 12 months, leading to widespread anxiety because one in every three households here is heated by coal. Overall, Poland relies on coal for almost 70% of its energy needs, a far higher percentage than any other of the EU’s 27 nations.

“We will introduce a program of increased coal extraction in Poland’s collieries,” Morawiecki said.

The Polish government’s aim is to reduce the fossil fuel’s prices ahead of the next heating season to the level they “were at before the sudden rise that was linked to the embargo on Russia. We will do this.”

 Tilak Doshi: The revenge of the fossil fuels

Forbes, 10 June 2022

It would be myopic to view surging energy prices merely as a result of the Russian invasion. The recent price spikes in fuels are a cumulative result of government policies in the West that have focused obsessively with the speculative, model-based forecasts of the climate impacts of carbon emissions.

ExxonMobil Corp. shares rallied to a new all-time high this week, exceeding the previous closing record from 2014. The company’s shares gained 71% since January 1st in a stellar year for conventional energy stocks. Last month, Saudi Aramco overtook Apple as the world’s most valuable publicly traded company. These stock results reflect the sharp increase in crude oil prices.

International bellwether Brent crude exceeded $120 per barrel recently. On Monday, Goldman Sachs published a report that revised its oil price outlook higher (again), raising its peak summer price forecast for Brent crude from $125/barrel to $140/barrel. But it is not only crude oil prices that are likely to remain stronger for longer.

Energy prices across the board — from thermal coal and natural gas to diesel and gasoline — have surged over the past year and have only been accentuated by the financial sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.

Countries around the world are struggling with energy shortages and price spikes as energy security and affordability are propelled to the policy centre-stage after Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine. Yet it would be myopic to view surging energy prices merely as a result of the Russian invasion. The recent price spikes in fuels are a cumulative result of government policies in the West that have focused obsessively with the speculative, model-based forecasts of the climate impacts of carbon emissions.

The climate industrial complex has vilified fossil fuels over the past few decades in the name of a presumed impending climate apocalypse. It starved the oil, gas and coal sectors of capital investments and diverted trillions of dollars of public funds to subsidize wind, solar and electric vehicle industries.

What Stranded Resources? 
Mark Carney, the “rock star” ex-central banker, is a member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum and became the UN Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance in 2019.

He was appointed finance advisor for the UK presidency of the COP26 United Nations Climate Change conference in Glasgow held in November. Mr. Carney spent the last few years persuading the world’s financial institutions that fossil fuels – accounting for over 80 per cent of global primary energy supply – are “stranded assets” on a one-way trajectory to zero value as the world races to “net zero (carbon emissions) by 2050”.

Mr. Carney isn’t the only illustrious professional on the “fossil-fuels-are-stranded-resources” bandwagon. A short list would include U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, BlackRock chief executive Larry Fink and Fatih Birol, the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency.

They assert an “existential threat” of climate change caused by the combustion of fossil fuels. These leaders in finance and public policy circles are joined in the popular media by climate Cassandras such as Al Gore, Bill McKibben and Prince Charles who have used their bully pulpits to encourage divestment from fossil fuel companies.

One year ago, ExxonMobil gained much media attention as it was forced to concede three board seats to climate activist investor Engine No. 1 in the industry’s biggest and most closely watched corporate contest. Critics of the company’s business strategy railed against the company’s “lack of attention” to alarmist climate concerns.

The company had fallen out of favour of the “Woke Inc.” Wall Street hedge funds and was ditched from the Dow Jones index in 2020. And now, the company is the darling of Wall Street as it spews cash for shareholders.

According to analyst Stephen Richardson cited by a Bloomberg piece on ExxonMobil’s remarkable turnaround in its stock price, “every conceivable headwind has become a tailwind” given the “structural deficit” in crude oil markets.

But the revenge of the fossil fuels is hardly restricted to ExxonMobil’s resurgent stock value. It is no small irony that a vast swath of the U.S. — from the Great Lakes to the West Coast, covering some two-thirds of the world’s richest country — is at risk of blackouts this summer according to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC).

As expected, progressive commentators and NERC itself blame this on predicted extreme heat and drought. Yet the US has had extreme weather before. After decades of shutting down reliable (i.e. dispatchable power 24/7) coal and nuclear generating plants and replacing them with erratic, weather-dependent solar and wind power, the US national grid is now destabilized and vulnerable to surges in demand and supply.

Last year’s near-catastrophic blackouts in Texas after a sudden cold snap is illustrative. As one editorial of a major national newspaper put it after NERC’s warning: “Summer is around the corner, and we suggest you prepare by buying an emergency generator, if you can find one in stock… Welcome to the ‘green energy transition’.”

Europe and the UK, global leaders in the “energy transition” efforts, also face potential blackouts as aggressive retirements of nuclear, coal and gas-fuelled plants have been replaced by unreliable renewables over the past two decades. A shortage of gas this winter could leave six million homes in the UK without power, the UK government recently warned. True to “the revenge of fossil fuels” theme, the government has asked coal power stations it had previously ordered to close down to remain open.

As if putting salt into an open wound, the IEA’s executive director Fatih Birol warned that Europe could be forced to start rationing energy this winter especially if the winter is cold and China’s economy rebounds. This is the same person who announced the astonishing Net Zero “roadmap” — published by the IEA with much fanfare in May 2021 — which called for the global cessation of all new investments in fossil fuels.

While Europe’s sanctions on Russian energy exports have accentuated the energy crisis in the continent, the EU’s rapid and forced transition away from fossil fuels towards reliance on renewables constitutes the essential backdrop to the dire state of affairs in energy security and affordability.

Perhaps most astonishing in the self-inflicted energy crises in the West are the surreal statements made by members of sanctimonious policy and business elites. Speaking about small and medium businesses in the recent Davos summit, Norwegian bank DNB ASA CEO Kjerstin Braathen said the energy transition will create energy shortages and inflationary pressures, but this “pain” is “worth it.”

This is comparable — in its sheer cluelessness as to what really matters to ordinary people — to U.S. climate envoy John Kerry expressing his regret that the war between Ukraine and Russia is “distracting people from climate change”.

 

 

The World Needs Fossil Fuels

In the incessant and often fawning mainstream media coverage of renewable energy technologies, in particular wind and solar power, the big picture in global energy affairs is left out. An estimated 3.5 billion people – the poor of the developing world, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia — lack access to reasonably reliable and adequate electricity supply.

In the five-year period to 2019 (prior to the onset of the pandemic), developing countries accounted for almost 90 per cent of global demand growth for primary energy; the Asian developing countries claimed nearly three-quarters. As the developing world, especially the rapidly-growing populous economies of Asia, emerge out of the pandemic lockdowns, access to affordable fossil fuels will be critical to their development prospects over the next several decades.

From this point of view, it is encouraging that “Giant global asset managers are still dumping tens of billions of dollars into new coal projects and hundreds of billions of dollars into major oil and gas companies,” according to a recent report from Reclaim Finance.

This organization tracks financial sector investments in fossil fuels. In a statement released with the report, an obviously disappointed Lara Cuvelier of Reclaim Finance asks “Is the asset management industry changing its investment practices in line with climate science, reducing investments in coal, oil, or gas expansion? Unfortunately, the answer is an emphatic ‘no’”. For Ms. Cuvelier, evidently, “climate science” is settled.

Meanwhile, green stocks became flops in 2021, lagging even airlines.

Vaclav Smil points out in his recent magisterial book – “How the World Really Works” — coal, oil and gas have powered urbanization, industrialization and agricultural productivity; going up the conventional energy ladder has led to improvements in the standards of living for the vast majority of the global population including the now developed countries.

As the rational optimist Matt Ridley stated some years ago, “fossil fuels will save the world, really.”

 

UN: The world is burning

 

ANTONIO GUTERRES, Secretary-General of the United Nations

Nero was  famously accused of fiddling while Rome burned. Today, some leaders are doing worse. They are throwing fuel on the fire. Literally. As the fallout of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ripples across the globe, the response of some nations to the growing energy crisis has been to double down on fossil fuels – pouring billions more dollars into the coal, oil and gas that are driving our deepening climate emergency.

Meanwhile all climate indicators continue to break records, forecasting a future of ferocious storms, floods, droughts, wildfires and unlivable temperatures in vast swathes of the planet. Our world faces climate chaos. New funding for fossil fuel exploration and production infrastructure is delusional. Fossil fuels are not the answer, nor will they ever be. We can see the damage we are doing to the planet and our societies. It is in the news every day, and no one is immune.

Fossil fuels are the cause of the climate crisis. Renewable energy is the answer – to limit climate disruption and boost energy security. Had we invested earlier and massively in renewable energy, we would not find ourselves once again at the mercy of unstable fossil fuel markets. Renewables are the peace plan of the 21st century. But the battle for a rapid and just energy transition is not being fought on a level field. Investors are still backing fossil fuels, and governments still hand out billions in subsidies for coal, oil and gas – some US $11 million every minute.

There is a word for favouring short-term relief over long-term well-being. Addiction. We are still addicted to fossil fuels. For the health of our societies and planet, we need to quit. Now. The only true path to energy security, stable power prices, prosperity and a livable planet lies in abandoning polluting fossil fuels and accelerating the renewables-based energy transition.

To that end, I have called on G20 governments to dismantle coal infrastructure, with a full phase-out by 2030 for OECD countries and 2040 for all others. I have urged financial actors to abandon fossil fuel finance and invest in renewable energy. And I have proposed a five-point plan to boost renewable energy around the world.

First, we must make renewable energy technology a global public good, including removing intellectual property barriers to technology transfer. Second, we must improve global access to supply chains for renewable energy technology components and raw materials.

In 2020, the world installed five gigawatts of battery storage. We need 600 gigawatts of storage capacity by 2030. Clearly, we need a global coalition to get there. Shipping bottlenecks and supply-chain constraints, as well as higher costs for lithium and other battery metals, are hurting deployment of such technologies and materials just as we need them most.

Third, we must cut the red tape that holds up solar and wind projects. We need fast-track approvals and more effort to modernise electricity grids. In the European Union, it takes eight years to approve a wind farm, and ten years in the United States. In the Republic of Korea, onshore wind projects need 22 permits from eight different ministries.

Fourth, the world must shift energy subsidies from fossil fuels to protect vulnerable people from energy shocks and invest in a just transition to a sustainable future.

And fifth, we need to triple investments in renewables. This includes multilateral development banks and development finance institutions, as well as commercial banks. All must step up and dramatically boost investments in renewables.

We need more urgency from all global leaders. We are already perilously close to hitting the 1.5°C limit that science tells us is the maximum level of warming to avoid the worst climate impacts. To keep 1.5 alive, we must reduce emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 and reach net zero emissions by mid-century. But current national commitments will lead to an increase of almost 14 per cent this decade. That spells catastrophe.

The answer lies in renewables – for climate action, for energy security, and for providing clean electricity to the hundreds of millions of people who currently lack it. Renewables are a triple win.

There is no excuse for anyone to reject a renewables revolution. While oil and gas prices have reached record price levels, renewables are getting cheaper all the time. The cost of solar energy and batteries has plummeted 85 per cent over the past decade. The cost of wind power fell by 55 per cent. And investment in renewables creates three times more jobs than fossil fuels.

Of course, renewables are not the only answer to the climate crisis. Nature-based solutions, such as reversing deforestation and land degradation, are essential. So too are efforts to promote energy efficiency. But a rapid renewable energy transition must be our ambition.

As we wean ourselves off fossil fuels, the benefits will be vast, and not just to the climate. Energy prices will be lower and more predictable, with positive knock-on effects for food and economic security. When energy prices rise, so do the costs of food and all the goods we rely on. So, let us all agree that a rapid renewables revolution is necessary and stop fiddling while our future burns.

 

 UK  keeps North Sea oil and gas flowing

Kitty Donaldson and Ellen Milligan 5/27/2022(Bloomberg)

Boris Johnson  wants to keep North Sea oil and gas flowing to help tackle the rising cost of living and urged companies to boost investment.

“I don’t think we can turn our backs entirely on hydrocarbons,” Johnson said  “The UK actually has a flourishing sector in the northeast of Scotland. It’s very important, we’ve got to keep that going.”

The prime minister’s comments underscore the contortions forced upon UK energy policy by the inflation crisis and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The government is breaking climate pledges made as host of the COP26 conference in December by mounting a £5 billion tax raid on the oil and gas industry that will subsidize fuel consumption and incentivize drilling.  In his drive to lower the cost of energy by boosting supply, Johnson  stressed the importance of further investment in green technology and renewables.

“To tackle inflation in the medium-term, you’ve got to deal with supply-side issues,” he said. “So we need the energy companies to be putting some more into hydrocarbons, but we also need the whole country to be investing in more low-carbon energy.”

 Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced a 25% levy on the profits of UK oil and gas producers,  to help consumers pay their soaring energy bills. In an attempt to not deter investment, Sunak said companies will be able to avoid some of this levy by making fresh investments in oil and gas extraction — offsetting as much as 80% of new spending. That breaks a COP26 pledge not to subsidize fossil fuels production.

While most  companies acknowledged that Sunak was responding to an urgent real cost-of-living crisis, the industry reacted with a mixture of caution and disappointment.

BP Plc said it would have to look again at its investment plans in the UK because the chancellor’s new levy is a “multiyear proposal” rather than a “one-off tax.”

Johnson said the UK will have a “regime that’s going to continue to encourage companies to invest” and said he’d spoken to the chief executive officers of BP, Shell Plc and others. “I’m confident the UK will continue to be incredibly attractive for investment, not least in green technology and both BP and Shell are keen to do that,” he said.

 

UK  reaps record North Sea tax waterfall  

Elena Mazneva 5/27/2022(Bloomberg)

The UK Treasury is set to collect record revenue from oil and gas this year, with or without a windfall tax.

Before the government imposed a new North Sea levy on Thursday, the industry was set to deliver £28 billion of corporate profits in 2022, with the state collecting £12 billion in taxes, according to consultant Wood Mackenzie Ltd.

“That would mark the best returns –- for both industry and government –- since the North Sea’s inception, by some distance,” Wood Mackenzie said.

The new windfall tax should add about £5 billion to state revenue this year and next, according to the Treasury.

The UK government announced on Thursday that it will impose a 25% windfall tax on North Sea producers, bowing to mounting pressure to support Britons facing a record squeeze on living standards. While the measure includes tax relief on new investment in oil and gas extraction, shares of many UK-focused companies dropped after the decision.

“The industry won’t like it but it’s worth pointing out that no-one –- industry or government –- was anticipating over $100 a barrel Brent in their planning scenarios,” said Neivan Boroujerdi, Wood Mackenzie’s research director for North Sea upstream.  “Corporate profits will still be higher than what would have been anticipated six months ago.”

The timeframe set by the government could be enough for some discoveries that are currently awaiting the final investment decision to be developed with the bulk of costs receiving this tax relief, according to Wood Mackenzie

Shell  £25bn spending plans

Kwasi Kwarteng visitied a major Shell conference hailing the firm’s UK spending plans, two weeks after the government announced a windfall tax on the industry.

 

 

Shell fears uncertainty from  windfall tax

Supermajor outlines concerns after levy  by Chancellor Sunak

31 May 2022
By Rob Watts  in    London

The new windfall tax on UK North Sea operators and an investment allowance unveiled by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak last week have created uncertainty about the future not just of oil and gas development but also lower carbon forms of energy, according to energy giant Shell.

A Shell spokesman said the supermajor “understands the worry” of millions about how high energy costs are challenging their household budgets, and the need for support “to help make ends meet”.

 

 

 

UK tax raid breaks historic climate pledge

James Herron 5/27/2022(Bloomberg)

Rishi Sunak’s windfall tax on oil and gas includes a big incentive to drill more.

Just how the UK government finds itself mounting a tax raid on the oil and gas industry, while simultaneously breaking a promise not to offer fossil fuel producers incentives to drill more, shows how the invasion of Ukraine has turned the world of energy on its head.

A government that publicly shunned the oil industry when it hosted the COP26 climate conference in December has spent the last few months encouraging it to investment more. Today, the cost-of-living crisis forced another sharp turn in policy.

The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer announced 25% windfall tax on profits of oil and gas producers, earning the government an expected £5 billion ($6.3 billion) that will be used to help the poor deal with soaring energy costs.

Companies will be able to avoid some of this levy by making fresh investments in oil and gas extraction — offsetting as much as 80% of new spending. That runs against the COP26 agreement, which pledged to phase-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies.

“Giving these firms even bigger tax breaks to extract more oil and gas will lock in greater dependence on fossil fuels,” said Luke Murphy, associate director for energy and climate at the Institute for Public Policy Research, a left-leaning think tank. “This is bad for future energy bills, our energy security, and our environment.”

 

 Britain is spending £37 billion to make its energy-supply crisis worse

Jess Shankleman 5/31/2022(Bloomberg)

As he opened the COP26 climate talks in November, Boris Johnson warned “it’s one minute to midnight” in the race to slash planet-heating carbon emissions. His government has since announced £37 billion of funding focused squarely on subsidizing the consumption of energy — much of it fossil fuels.

The prime minister didn’t come to this point by choice. He’s reacting to a cost-of-living crisis that has impoverished millions of Britons. But his government has been forced to address this problem with tools that are both costly and climate-busting in large part because of past policy failings.

The support for households announced this week was “absolutely necessary and the right thing to do” said Luke Murphy, associate director for energy and climate at the Institute for Public Policy Research, a progressive think tank. “But it should have been accompanied by investment in home insulation and an expansion of onshore wind to lower bills, increase energy security and tackle climate change.”

Over the last decade, a raft of energy-efficiency measures such as home insulation have been botched or abandoned under successive Conservative prime ministers. The expansion of onshore wind power has also slowed markedly due to their restrictive policies. British consumers’ annual energy bills would be £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion) lower today if those things hadn’t happened, according to an analysis by Carbon Brief.  

Failure on these policies has left Johnson’s government “lurching from crisis to crisis, coming back with ever greater short-term fixes,” Murphy said.

 

Climate Promises

When COP26 concluded Alok Sharma, the conference president and UK cabinet minister, told the nearly 200 national delegations departing Glasgow that he would be pressuring them to stick to their climate promises. Six months later, it’s the hosts themselves rowing back on commitments signed at the United Nations summit.

This week brought the clearest example of that. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced £5 billion of funding to help consumers cover soaring energy bills, paid for with a windfall tax on oil and gas producers. In an attempt to not deter investment, he said companies will be able to avoid some of this levy by making fresh investments in oil and gas extraction — breaking a COP26 pledge not to subsidize fossil-fuel production.

On Friday, Johnson was promoting the revitalization of North Sea oil and gas, urging companies to boost their investments.

“I don’t think we can turn our backs entirely on hydrocarbons,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “You’ve got to deal with supply-side issues” and keep the North Sea going, he said.

The windfall tax follows a series of other policy decisions that contradict Britain’s promise to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. They include taking 5 pence off the price of a liter of petrol to help drivers, and potentially reopening the door to fracking for natural gas. Despite its desperation for new energy supplies, the government hasn’t lifted restrictions on new onshore wind farms, which are the cheapest form of new energy.

Altogether, the Treasury has pledged to spend about £37 billion to help British people pay their energy bills.

“I’m not sure that was what was envisaged in the Glasgow climate pact,” Chris Stark, chief executive of the UK government’s independent watchdog, the Climate Change Committee, wrote  following Sunak’s tax announcement.

There were no notable new policies to help people reduce their energy consumption, which in the long term will be key to protecting them from price shocks. Insulation rates remain well below the peak rates of delivery achieved before 2012, when key policies were scrapped, the Climate Change Committee said.

The UK government  failed to come up with a successful home-insulation program. In 2013, then Prime Minister David Cameron reduced spending on energy efficiency after reportedly demanding departments “cut the green crap.”

Instead he introduced the Green Deal, which attached the cost of loan repayments on to a property. That was ditched two years later due to low adoption rates, alongside the zero-carbon home standard for new buildings. In 2020, ministers introduced the Green Home Grant, but that was abandoned less than a year later due to administrative problems.

It is possible for governments to create a support package that both helps people now and in the longer term, said IPPR’s Murphy. For example, Ireland is offering homeowners a 50% discount on deep retrofits to improve their efficiency.  Germany and New Zealand have been giving commuters cheap public transport fares, while some US cities have made it free.

“Ultimately, the only way we have a long-term route out of this challenge is by reducing demand for energy and fossil fuels,” said Tim Lord, a former U.K. government energy official who is now head of climate change at the Phoenix Group Holdings Plc, which provides pension and insurance services.

 

 

 

World Oil  UK  can’t have it both ways

World Oil Staff 5/31/2022

Recent moves by the UK government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson indicate that people in his regime must think that they can play both sides of the street, so to speak, when it comes to oil and gas policy, and get away with it. We are here to tell them that this is not practical, much less ethical and effective.

Working both sides of the street. So, let’s see—we’ve got the UK government employing Robin Hood tactics and then making it worse by offering Marie Antoinette-style appeasement. One cannot think of a worse way to play both sides of the street. On the one side,

British officials are grabbing money from oil and gas producers that they have earned, yet officials maintain it is ill-gotten. Then, in Robin Hood fashion, officials distribute this money to everyday citizens, particularly the poor.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the equation, in “let them eat cake” fashion, these same officials, per Sunak, say to producers, “the more a company invests, the less tax they will pay.”

Really? It reminds us of the Biden administration in the U.S. reacting to high gasoline prices by suggesting that consumers should purchase electric vehicles, even though the average price of EVs is over $56,000.We refer, of course, to a decision announced on May 26 that the British regime will impose a 25% windfall tax on oil and gas producers’ profits.

At the same time, officials announced a £15 billion ($18.billion) package of support for households having difficulties paying increased energy bills. The latter move will give each UK household a £400 discount on their energy bill, and even more for the lowest-income households.

As if it makes everything better, Johnson’s administration “has built into the new levy a new investment allowance that means companies will have a new and significant incentive to reinvest their profits,” said Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak. He justified the windfall tax by saying that energy firms were making “extraordinary profits” while average Britons struggled.

Sure enough, Johnson, during the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions session on May 25, a day before the windfall tax was announced, had mentioned to Parliament that the UK desperately needed to boost oil and gas output, given the inflationary energy prices in Europe, as well as the Russian-Ukrainian situation.

And then, a day after announcing the windfall levy, Johnson had the unmitigated gall to double down on talking out of the other side of his mouth, telling Bloomberg TV on May 27 that “I don’t think we can turn our back entirely on hydrocarbons. The UK actually has a flourishing sector in the northeast of Scotland. It’s very important; we’ve got to keep that going.” Again, we say, Really?

The numbers don’t lie. Ironically, back on May 18 before the windfall tax announcement, Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) Chief Executive Deirdre Michie had noted that UK operators were already on track to pay £7.8 billion in tax during the 2022-2023 year. That’s a 20-fold increase from the 2020-2021 pandemic figure of just £0.4 billion and more than double the 2021-2022 number of £3.1 billion.

The £7.8 billion figure represents £279 per UK household, per annum. Furthermore, she had pointed out that the existing, pre-windfall tax rate of 40% was twice what any other industry paid. So, she said, “this means the Exchequer is already among the biggest beneficiaries.” And let us not forget that the UK benefits from the 195,000 jobs supported by the offshore energy industry, not to mention having its own indigenous supplies of oil and gas.

Just eight days later, OEUK’s Michie was back with more comments on the windfall tax, slated to be called “Energy Profits Levy” (sounds so clinical). She noted that the new taxes imposed on UK operators are a backward step by a government which, just two weeks earlier, had pledged to build a greener and more energy-independent nation. “The Energy Profits Levy…will discourage UK offshore energy investments, meaning declines in oil and gas exploration and production, and so force an increase in imports,” said Michie. “This is the exact opposite of what was promised in the British Energy Security Strategy, published just last month.”

“In April,” continued Michie somewhat sarcastically, “we welcomed the government’s British Energy Security Strategy, which pledged ‘secure, clean and affordable British energy for the long term.’ We thought long-term meant years or decades, but it seems to have meant just a few weeks.” She went on to lament that this windfall measure means “that in just a few years, the UK will be even more reliant on other countries for its energy, and consumers will still face rising bills.”

Operators re-evaluate plans. One cannot overemphasize the effect that this levy will have on offshore operators. In May 27 comments to UK state broadcaster BBC, and restated by Petroleum Economist, Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at financial services firm CMC Markets, said, “We have already had BP announce, in the past 24 hours, that is is now reviewing all of its investment in the UK economy in the aftermath of this decision, simply on the basis that it is not a one-off tax. Most of the companies in the North Sea, like Enquest or Serica Energy, get all their profits from UK waters; smaller operators will be hardest-hit.”

In similar comments to BBC and restated by Petroleum Economist, Nathan Piper, head of oil and gas research at Investec, said the expectation in the industry had been for “some sort of one-off windfall tax coming down the track. However, the policy presented yesterday is a multi-year windfall tax on an industry which is cyclical. Changing the fiscal terms in such a handbrake fashion is only going to damage investment levels in the UK North Sea.”

In a somewhat different tone, Reuters talked to a Shell spokesperson, who said, “We have consistently emphasized the importance of a stable environment for long-term investment.” That spokesperson called the investment-linked tax relief measure a “critical principle” of the tax measure.

Final thoughts. The recent oil and gas moves by Johnson’s administration are not at all what someone would expect from a “conservative regime,” and they belie his party’s label. By normal standards, such moves smack of something that would come from a Labour regime. Indeed, these policy decisions smell like something that would be embraced by the Biden administration, here in the U.S.

Perhaps Labour’s economic policy chief, Rachel Reeves, is accurate in saying that “the Conservatives are doing it (imposing a windfall tax), because they needed a new headline.”

It is curious that this announcement has come at a time when Johnson would like to keep the conversation away from a damaging report that details a series of illegal lockdown parties at his Downing Street office. Let’s hope that someone in his regime regains their proper senses before real damage is done to the UK’s upstream oil and gas sector.

 

 

OPEC+ keeps  supply plan even as EU sanctions Russia

Grant Smith, Ben Bartenstein and Salma El Wardany

5/31/2022(Bloomberg)

 The OPEC+ coalition will likely hold firm to its oil production plans this week even as the European Union moves to sanction group member Russia, delegates said.

Global oil supply and demand levels remain stable, with no severe disruption yet to Russian exports, and thus require little action from the 23-nation alliance, according to the officials. With most members besides Saudi Arabia and its neighbors struggling to increase production, the group’s decisions are in any case becoming largely symbolic.

Oil prices continue to climb, surpassing $124 a barrel in London on Tuesday, as the EU’s planned embargo stands to tighten a global market already squeezed by rising fuel consumption and limited supplies. The rally has fed into the inflationary pressure that threatens to tip the global economy into recession, and the cost-of-living crisis hitting consumers around the world.

Spiraling costs pose a growing political risk for U.S. President Joe Biden, who has called on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to open the taps and is mulling a visit to Saudi Arabia to try and repair frayed diplomatic relations.

Riyadh and its partners — who still hold several million barrels of untapped spare capacity — have so far remained unmoved, however.

OPEC has already “done all it can” to stabilize global markets, which face no shortfall of oil, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Prices are being whipped up not by a shortage of crude, but a lack of refining capacity in consuming nations to produce fuels like gasoline, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said earlier this month.

Holding Steady – As a result, OPEC+ looks poised to rubber-stamp a modest increase of 430,000 barrels a day for July as the group — in theory, at least — revives production halted during the pandemic. Eleven out of 13 traders and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg predicted this status-quo outcome when the alliance convenes online on Thursday.

In practice, most expect the group will struggle to deliver half this planned increase — if any — as diminished investment and political instability take a toll on the capacity of many members. Angola and Nigeria have suffered some of the most severe output setbacks.

Given that Moscow is a critical member of the OPEC+ network, it would probably be difficult in any case to reach a group-wide agreement on a bigger hike that would replace Russian supplies. While the Persian Gulf nations could separately agree to raise output, such a move would likely strain ties with Russia and risk unraveling the coalition.

EU leaders have agreed on a package of measures that would forbid the purchase of crude oil and petroleum products from Russia delivered to member states by sea but include a temporary exemption for pipeline crude, European Council President Charles Michel said late Monday during a summit in Brussels.

Riyadh might eventually shift its position but only in exchange for a new, comprehensive security agreement with the US that would allay its fears over the regional instability posed by Iran, according to Helima Croft, a strategist at RBC Capital Markets LLC.

“The Saudis have been very transparent about what they are looking for from the U.S. for a successful relationship reset,” Croft said.

 

 

Windfall tax wipes £4bn from energy firms

The Times, 28 May 2022

Billions were wiped off the value of UK-focused energy groups this week after the government’s oil and gas windfall tax plans threatened to suck in other power providers.

Over £4 billion has been lost from the combined value of seven London-listed groups over the past week as details have emerged of the 25 per cent energy profits levy on the North Sea industry and of the chancellor’s plans to extend it imminently to electricity generators.

Serica Energy, a North Sea producer, has fallen by 24 per cent since last Friday while Enquest is down 17 per cent and Harbour 15 per cent.

Centrica, the British Gas owner that has operations in the North Sea and co-owns nuclear plants, has fallen by 12 per cent. Other power plant owners have also been hit, with Drax down almost 18 per cent, SSE 8 per cent lower and Greencoat UK Wind down by 4 per cent.

Their combined market capitalisations have fallen by just over £4 billion.

Communique of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM)

“Delivering a common future: connecting, innovating, transforming”

June 25, 2022    Kigali, Rwanda

Introduction
Commonwealth Heads of Government, hereafter referred to as Heads, met in Rwanda from 24 to 25 June 2022 under the theme of  ‘Delivering a Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, Transforming,’ at a time of uneven recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, new threats to economic security and political stability in the international system, and when many across the Commonwealth are directly and increasingly affected by the impacts of climate change.

1. Heads acknowledged the importance of multilateral cooperation in a rules-based international system and reaffirmed their shared commitment to continue working with the United Nations (UN), other international and regional organisations and International Financial Institutions (IFIs) in their responses to these challenges.
2. Heads underscored the importance of connecting, innovating, and transforming in order to facilitate a full recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and to respond to conflicts and crises in ways that increases resilience and progress in delivering a common future, underpinned by sustainability, peace and prosperity, to improve the lives of all the people of the Commonwealth.
3. Expressing sorrow for the enormous loss of life and livelihood resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, Heads affirmed that the universal, timely, fair and equitable access to, and distribution of safe, efficacious, and affordable COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, and capacity to administer the same, are key to global recovery.
4. Heads committed to working together, and in close collaboration with other partners in the international community, to ensure that no one is left behind, including by supporting the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility (COVAX) through adequate funding, supply of vaccines, research and development (R&D) collaboration, local manufacturing, and other measures, and to effectively integrate these services into international health systems.
5. Heads noted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda), including the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, as a global blueprint for recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and as an opportunity to build a more resilient, peaceful, prosperous, and inclusive world for all and to accelerate progress through the Decade of Action. Moreover, they discussed how the modern Commonwealth might build on its achievements and could leverage its comparative advantage and its network of organisations to contribute to viable solutions.
6. Heads reaffirmed their commitment to the aspirations of the Commonwealth Charter and the 2030 Agenda.
7. Heads discussed ongoing global conflicts and the associated loss of lives and infrastructure, and the displacement of people. They also discussed Ukraine. In this regard,
8. Heads emphasised the commitment in the Commonwealth Charter, to international peace and security, and to an effective multilateral system based on international law. They took note of the relevant UN resolutions and reaffirmed their support for the Charter of the United Nations and international efforts for peace.
9. Heads underscored the need to respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states.
10. Heads also emphasised that all countries must seek peaceful resolution to all disputes in accordance with international law.
11. Heads expressed their deep concern that nutrition, food and energy security for the most vulnerable in the Commonwealth is being further affected by supply chain disruptions and price increases resulting from global instability, the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts and crises that are impeding export from one of the world’s most important agricultural suppliers, and the impacts of climate change.  They observed that disruptions to food security and nutrition, and the smooth flow of trade and exports, are undermining member countries’ recovery from the pandemic and adversely affecting sustainable development and progress on the 2030 Agenda.
12. Heads recognised that ongoing global conflicts, including in Ukraine, heightens the impact that conflict places on global energy and food security and exacerbates existing high food prices and supply chain issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.
13. Heads highlighted the need to sustainably transform current food systems to address weaknesses of the agri-food sector, improve productivity, and build resilience in agriculture and supply chains to economic, social and environmental shocks. They reaffirmed the importance of maintaining transparent, inclusive, fair and open agricultural markets and trade to ensure the continued flow of food, products and inputs essential for agricultural and food production.
14. Heads acknowledged that conflicts and crises affect migration patterns. They also acknowledged that women and children comprise the vast majority of refugee populations, and face significant risks of gender-based violence and sexual exploitation and abuse, as well as lack access to life-saving sexual and reproductive health services. They also acknowledged that safe, orderly, and regular migration can deliver social and economic benefits, strengthen resilience and growth, and contribute to sustainable development; but that irregular migration, including when driven by conflict, creates significant challenges.
15. Heads agreed that a capacity-centred approach to migration partnerships would best serve common goals.
16. Heads noted further that Commonwealth countries are affected differently by demographic, economic, social, and environmental changes that may result from migration or have implications for migration.
17. Heads emphasised the need for international cooperation to facilitate safe, orderly, and regular migration, including through the implementation of relevant international frameworks.
18. Heads are deeply concerned about the ongoing climate crisis, and recognised that it affects, in particular, the most vulnerable, including developing countries, least developed countries and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
19. Heads welcomed the substantive progress of the 26th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (COP26) and the COP26 Glasgow Climate Pact, including their collective commitment to achieving the agreed ambition on finance, adaptation, and mitigation.
20. GOVERNANCE, HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE RULE OF LAW
    Heads renewed their commitment to the Commonwealth’s fundamental political values of democracy, gender equality, and inclusive development, as outlined in the Commonwealth Charter. They further reiterated their commitment to human rights and fundamental freedoms as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other relevant international instruments. Recognising that human rights are applicable in online and offline media, they underscored the vital role of a vibrant civil society, including human rights defenders, in delivering good governance and democracy. They underscored the importance of good cooperation between member countries and their respective National Human Rights Institutions or equivalent mechanisms.
    Heads stressed the importance of the right to freedom of expression through peaceful, open dialogue, and the free flow of information, including through a free, independent, responsible, and pluralistic media, and committed to enhancing democratic traditions and strengthening democratic processes.
21. Heads noted the important ongoing work being carried out by the Expert Working Group of member countries on the Commonwealth Principles on Freedom of Expression and the Role of the Media in Good Governance, and looked forward to further updates. Furthermore, Heads noted that freedom of religion or belief are cornerstones of democratic societies.
22. Heads reaffirmed their support for the Good Offices role of the Secretary-General as a mechanism to protect and promote the Commonwealth’s fundamental values and principles.
23. Heads also commended the outgoing members of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) for engaging with member countries when these values and principles were under threat. They acknowledged CMAG’s report to Heads and noted the reconstituted CMAG should ensure regional balance, continuity and institutional memory.
24. Heads reaffirmed their commitment to the Revised Commonwealth Guidelines on Election Observation, endorsed at the 2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, and called for strengthened efforts throughout an election cycle to support member countries in improving their democratic processes and institutions, including through the establishment of domestic mechanisms to review and take forward observer recommendations.
25. Rule of Law and Human Rights:  Heads noted the work of the Commonwealth Secretariat (the Secretariat) in facilitating the promotion and protection of human rights with member countries, particularly through the implementation of the Universal Periodic Review and treaty body outcomes.
26. Heads acknowledged support for the establishment and strengthening of National Human Rights Institutions or equivalent mechanisms. They appreciated the human rights expertise and assistance provided through the Commonwealth Small States Office in Geneva.
27. Heads encouraged efforts to reinforce respect for human rights and reiterated the continued importance of sharing human rights good practice and expertise across the Commonwealth.
28. Heads emphasised the need for effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking, and secure the prohibition and elimination of all forms of child labour, including the recruitment and use of child soldiers, by 2025. In this context, Heads endorsed the Kigali Declaration on Child Care and Protection Reform. They also encouraged member countries to ratify and implement relevant outstanding international human rights agreements and International Labour Organisation conventions.
29. Heads underscored that measures taken to address the COVID-19 pandemic should be targeted, necessary, transparent, non-discriminatory, time-bound, and proportionate. They also stressed that these measures should be in accordance with member countries’ obligations under applicable international human rights law.
30. Heads endorsed the Commonwealth Law Ministers Declaration on Equal Access to Justice issued in Colombo, in November 2019, and the subsequent Plan of Action endorsed by Senior Officials of Law Ministries, in February 2021. In particular, Heads renewed their commitment to respect the rule of law, equal access to justice and independent justice systems.
31. In pursuit of SDGs 10 (reduced inequalities) and 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions), Heads committed to fully implement laws that promote and protect inclusion, to eliminate discriminatory laws, policies and practices, and to promote appropriate legislation, policies and action.
32. Heads emphasised the need to protect all individuals from all forms of violence and discrimination. They welcomed the Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Statement on Racism and committed to eliminate the scourge of racial discrimination and inequality.
33. Heads renewed their commitment to fully implementing the Commonwealth (Latimer House) Principles on the Three Branches of Government and noted the updated Benchmarks for Democratic Legislatures prepared by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
34. Heads called for greater focus on the promotion and realisation of the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of mental health and well-being. They emphasised the urgent need to examine mental health and psycho-social support policies across the Commonwealth, and to promote community rights-based and people-centred services for people with mental health conditions and psycho-social conditions. Moreover, they encouraged member countries to tackle holistically the social stigma and discrimination that persons with mental health conditions in all forms may face.
35. Heads noted that persons with disabilities are disproportionately vulnerable to the health, economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and called on member countries to ensure that their COVID-19 response and recovery actions, including vaccine programmes, are inclusive. They also urged member countries to implement the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and promote alignment of any related policies.
36. Heads reaffirmed that radicalisation leading to violence, violent extremism, and terrorism in all its forms are serious global threats, expressed concern for victims, and condemned perpetrators. They acknowledged that these threats require a multi-faceted and whole-of-society approach, including working with all relevant stakeholders to address the root causes and drivers, encouraging the meaningful participation of women and youth, and focusing on building resilient and inclusive societies.
37. Heads took note of the outcomes of the 2022 Commonwealth Ministers of Education Meeting, including the role that education can play in preventing violent extremism.
38. Heads called upon Ministers of Education to accelerate implementation of global citizenship education towards elimination of all forms of violence.
39. Heads further reaffirmed the continued relevance and importance of viable solutions and encouraged member countries to actively share expertise and best practice with those members affected by violent extremism and terrorism. They encouraged member countries to support the efforts of the Secretariat in providing effective gender-responsive assistance in Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism, including in preventing the use of the internet for radicalisation leading to violence and recruitment of Commonwealth citizens by violent extremist groups. Heads also noted the vital role that international networks play in countering terrorist activities by preventing money laundering and countering terrorist financing.
40. Gender Equality:   Heads adopted a Commonwealth Declaration on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment. They acknowledged the UN Women’s review of progress since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 1995 and expressed concern at all forms of discrimination faced by women and girls. They recognised that women and girls are still underrepresented in decision-making processes, including in situations of conflict and crisis, environmental-related disasters, and humanitarian settings; are disproportionately affected by poverty and discrimination; carry the majority of unpaid care and domestic work; are exposed to sexual and gender-based violence, including being disproportionately affected by conflict-related sexual violence; and make up the majority of victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation purposes, and harmful practices, both online and offline.
    Heads emphasised that women continue to face disproportionate barriers exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly of unpaid care and domestic work, that prevent them from fully engaging in and benefiting from trade and acknowledged that economic and trade instruments, policies, programmes and agreements could address these barriers. Heads committed to addressing these barriers, promoting women’s economic empowerment, and increasing opportunities for women-owned businesses to trade. Heads recognised the complimentary trade and domestic policies to ensure that women, as workers, business owners and consumers, can participate in and benefit from trade; and will further enhance their efforts to promote gender equality and equity in bilateral and multilateral settings.
41. Delivering Good Governance:  Heads reflected on the link between good governance and transformational leadership that is accountable, transparent, inclusive, and non-discriminatory. They committed to the effective and equitable delivery of public goods and determined to continually evaluate their governance systems, and make improvements where necessary, including placing citizen participation (especially of young people, women and others facing inequality), at the heart of policy development.  Heads called for increased technical assistance from the Secretariat, especially to Low-to-Middle-Income-Countries in policy formulation and development.
    Heads further noted the importance of UN Security Council Resolution 1325(2000) and subsequent resolutions addressing women, peace, and security; and the importance of ensuring women’s full, equal, and meaningful participation and protection in preventing, ending, and rebuilding after conflict, including in leadership and decision-making roles. Heads acknowledged the valuable work of women mediators and peacebuilders in building peace across the Commonwealth and beyond, including the Women Mediators across the Commonwealth network.
    Heads welcomed greater citizen engagement in Commonwealth institutions and programmes and noted, with appreciation, the strengthened collaboration between the Secretariat and Commonwealth Foundation.
    Heads commended the Principles of the Commonwealth Anti-Corruption Benchmarks, which are non-binding, and reaffirmed their commitment to substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all forms; develop effective, accountable, and transparent institutions at all levels; and ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory, and representative decision-making at all levels, in accordance with SDG 16.
    SUSTAINABILITY
42. Economy
43. Heads expressed deep concern about the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy. They acknowledged that developing countries have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic in terms of impact on their economies, employment opportunities, livelihoods of people and food security. They acknowledged the measures member countries have taken to protect all citizens, particularly those from the most vulnerable groups, and to mitigate the pandemic’s effects; while noting that inclusive global economic recovery will require a commitment to a sustainable economic system that is centred around people and the environment. Accordingly, Heads welcomed the enhanced collaboration of Commonwealth Finance Ministers, who met on 7 October 2020, and on 12 October 2021.
    Heads recognised that the continued economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly acute on tourism, manufacturing, and fisheries, leading to significant job losses and the closure of many small and medium enterprises, including many owned by women. Heads recognised that tourism is the main source of revenue for many Commonwealth countries, particularly for SIDS. They noted the challenges of de-risking and loss of correspondent banking relationships for SIDS, which has the potential to exclude many countries from the global financial system and increase the costs and lower the level of remittances. Heads encouraged enhanced trade collaboration between members, as well as diversification of this sector to increase economic resilience.
    Noting that COVID-19 responses have put additional pressure on economies with limited fiscal space, resulting in increasing debt levels, particularly for small states and developing economies, Heads acknowledged the need for IFIs to develop appropriate mechanisms to meet their needs. They recognised a need for a long-term view on debt sustainability and for more innovative solutions to sovereign debt resolution challenges, such as natural disaster clauses in bond issues. Heads called on the G20 to work with the Paris Club of official creditors to make the process of the Common Framework for Debt Treatments (Common Framework) clearer and more coordinated among relevant stakeholders, and to support countries with debt vulnerabilities.
    Heads called on the G20 to work with the Paris Club to effectively implement the Common Framework for delivering debt relief for countries with debt vulnerabilities, including for private creditors to provide comparable treatment in any future Common Framework, and for existing debt reduction initiatives to be scaled up where necessary, including low interest perpetual bonds for sustainable development and climate action. Heads pledged to work together, and with others, to tackle the impact of natural disasters, as well the threat of pandemics which may be exacerbated by natural disasters and related climate impacts.
    Heads called for concerted and coordinated efforts to rebuild resilient economies and build future preparedness to tackle natural disasters, considering the specific needs of developing countries, least developed countries, and SIDS.
    Heads further encouraged member countries to accelerate the transition to sustainable markets, in the context of strengthening global efforts to reach the goals of the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, which include common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances, through laws and policies that incentivise sustainable and inclusive economic development, including women’s economic empowerment and the promotion of equal labour market outcomes for women. Further noting that transitioning to low carbon, climate-resilient economies must be just and will require adequate and predictable climate finance, technology development and transfer, and capacity building. They further urged member countries to improve resilience by diversifying national supply chains, creating green jobs, building resilient infrastructure, advancing sustainable ocean economies, encouraging domestic consumption, adopting digital solutions, and promoting food security through climate-resilient food systems.
    Heads recognised the crucial role of investment in transforming economies and creating inclusive economic growth and long-term prosperity. They acknowledged that high quality investment and infrastructure, both digital and physical, and notably clean, green infrastructure investment, is a cornerstone of sustainable economic growth. Heads noted the opportunities arising from investment partnerships across the Commonwealth membership to bring mutual benefits to all.
44. Small States :    Heads recognised the particular vulnerabilities of small states, including SIDS, especially in relation to natural, environmental, economic and socio-political shocks. They also noted that these states also face vulnerabilities and are disproportionately affected by the climate crisis, for example, through increased land degradation, drought, flash floods, and rising sea levels. In this regard, Heads noted and acknowledged work undertaken in the Pacific region, as well as the adoption of the Pacific Islands Forum Declaration on Preserving Maritime Zones in the Face of Climate Change-Related Sea Level Rise to ensure that maritime zones are not reduced due to the effects of sea level rise. They noted the potential loss of land territory and the implications this may have for Statehood for some SIDS due to climate change and sea level rise.
    Heads noted the outcome statement of the 2022 Commonwealth Ministerial Meeting on Small States and noted the urgent need to address small states, including the vulnerabilities of SIDS.
45. Heads recalled the COP26 Glasgow Climate Pact, which encourages relevant providers of financial support to consider how vulnerability to the adverse effects of climate change could be reflected in the provision and mobilisation of concessional financial resources and how they could simplify and enhance access to finance. To this end, they noted the development of the Commonwealth Universal Vulnerability Index, which could complement indices such as Multidimensional Vulnerability Index, and called for urgent global discussion on a definition of climate vulnerability to access concessional finance. They also welcomed the UN-Commonwealth Joint Advocacy Strategy Towards Achieving the SDGs and Addressing the Vulnerabilities of Small States, which calls for a UN-Commonwealth Decade of Action, focused specifically on addressing the issues affecting small states, including climatic and environmental vulnerability, remoteness, climate change, high debt burdens, tourism dependence, and access to concessional finance.
    Heads acknowledged the work of the Commonwealth Small States Offices, the Commonwealth Small States Centre of Excellence, and the Commonwealth Small States Trade Financing Facility, and encouraged collaboration with other UN mechanisms. Heads furthermore acknowledged the development of the Commonwealth Virtual Centre for Small States to provide a virtual hub to facilitate knowledge sharing, build capacity amongst small states, and enhance the work of existing institutional structures.
46. Trade :   Heads welcomed the revitalised collaboration among Commonwealth Trade Ministers, who met in October 2019, and received their outcome statements. They agreed that Commonwealth Trade Ministers reconvene by June 2023 to discuss next steps following the World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) 12th Ministerial Conference. Noting the findings of the 2021 Commonwealth Trade Review, the need for more ambitious action to boost intra-Commonwealth trade to US$ 2 trillion by 2030, and the impact that trade can have on tackling poverty, Heads reiterated the importance of trade in goods and services and investment for inclusive and sustainable economic growth and prosperity. This includes considering development clauses in new trading agreements that reinforce the interconnected nature of trade and development objectives.
    Heads noted the operationalisation of the Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda for Trade and Investment and the progress that has been made in building mutual understanding and sharing of experiences. Heads recognised the progress made on the Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda since CHOGM 2018, the work carried out by the five connectivity clusters and the lead countries towards generating inclusive and participatory inter-Commonwealth trade and investment and called on Commonwealth Trade Ministers to take the requisite steps to ensure the optimal work of the clusters. They noted the Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda Action Plan and undertook to intensify efforts for impactful outcomes.
    Heads reaffirmed the need to employ the necessary tools and policies for developing countries to develop their economies in a sustainable manner.
    Heads underscored the need for a transformative agenda and noted the outcomes expressed in the Bridgetown Covenant, particularly those related to the most vulnerable, including SIDS, and noted the Ministerial Declaration of the group of small island developing states for the occasion of UNCTAD 15. Heads commended the Government of Barbados for being the first small island developing state to host this conference. Heads recognised the need for collaboration in the follow up on actions related to the implementation of the Bridgetown Covenant, particularly in the areas that are of importance to SIDS and asked the Secretariat to work with UNCTAD and the wider UN system to this end.
    Heads reflected on the challenges and opportunities in the multilateral trading system. They reaffirmed their commitment to free trade and they recognised the importance of targeted Special and Differential Treatment as a tool to support least developed and developing countries, where necessary, to fully implement WTO Agreements in a transparent, inclusive, fair and open, rules-based multilateral trading system, with the WTO at its core; taking into account the special circumstances of least developed countries and small and vulnerable economies, including SIDS and landlocked developing countries. They reiterated their support for reform of the WTO so it can continue to serve the needs of these nations. They highlighted the importance and urgency of launching the selection process of the Appellate Body members to restore the binding two-tier dispute settlement mechanism. Heads were particularly concerned about the risk of protectionist measures and unfair trading practices that threaten the rules-based trading system. They further recognised the importance of strengthening and reforming the WTO to improve its functioning as well as ensuring that all WTO members respect and uphold the rules-based international system. Heads further took note of the progress made in the implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement.
    Heads reaffirmed the importance of taking a holistic approach towards trade and sustainability within the Commonwealth, and recognising unique country circumstances and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances, which focuses on sustainably sourced products, and takes into account the priorities and needs of developing countries and small and vulnerable states. Heads also noted the importance of supporting opportunities for women and young people in trade, and called for concrete, innovative partnerships, and solutions to address the root causes of limited women’s participation in the digital economy, including through initiatives aimed at building skills and improving access to digital economies.
47. The Urgent Threat of Climate Change :  Heads underscored that the urgent threat of climate change, which particularly affects developing countries from across the Commonwealth, least developed countries and SIDS, further exacerbates existing vulnerabilities, and presents a significant threat to COVID-19 recovery efforts and sustainable development, and a risk of undermining and reversing development gains.
    Heads noted the 2022 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Groups I, II and III, and their contributions to the 6th Assessment Report, which highlighted the urgency of their findings on the science, adaptation and mitigation aspects of climate change.
    Heads renewed their commitment under the Paris Agreement to keep the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Heads also recognise that the impacts of climate change will be much lower at the temperature increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius compared with 2 degrees Celsius, and resolve to pursue efforts to limit temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as provided for in the COP26 Glasgow Climate Pact.
    Heads stressed the urgency of enhancing ambition and action in relation to mitigation, adaptation, and finance in this critical decade to address the gaps in the implementation of the goals of the Paris Agreement and welcomed the substantive progress made at COP26, the Glasgow Climate Pact.
    Heads noted the request to Parties to revisit and strengthen the 2030 targets in their Nationally Determined Contributions as necessary to align with the Paris Agreement temperature goal by the end of 2022, taking into account different national circumstances. Heads also urged Parties that have not yet done so to communicate, by the fourth session of the Conference of Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement long-term low greenhouse gas emissions Development Strategies towards just transitions to net-zero emissions by or around mid-century, taking into account different national circumstances. Heads recognise that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius requires rapid, deep and sustained reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions, including reducing global carbon dioxide emissions by 45% by 2030 relative to the 2010 level and to net-zero around mid-century as well as deep reductions in other greenhouse gasses. Heads recognised that this requires accelerated action in this critical decade on the basis of the best available scientific knowledge and equity, reflecting the agreed principles of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances, and in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty. Heads further recognised that enhanced support for developing country parties will allow for higher ambition in their actions. Heads call upon parties to accelerate the development, deployment and dissemination of technologies, and the adoption of policies, to transition towards low emission energy systems, including by rapidly scaling up the deployment of clean power generation and energy efficiency measures, including accelerating efforts towards the phasedown of unabated coal power and phase-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies,  while providing targeted support to the poorest and most vulnerable in line with national circumstances and recognising the need for support towards a just transition. Heads reiterate the urgency of scaling up action and support, as appropriate, including finance, technology transfer and capacity-building, for implementing approaches to averting, minimizing and addressing loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change in developing country Parties that are particularly vulnerable to these effects; and urges developed country Parties, the operating entities of the Financial Mechanism, United Nations entities and intergovernmental organizations and other bilateral and multilateral institutions, including non-governmental organizations and private sources, to provide enhanced and additional support for activities addressing loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change.
    Heads noted with deep regret that the goal of developed country parties to mobilise jointly US$100 billion per year by 2020 in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation has not yet been met and welcomes the increased pledges made by many developed country parties and the Climate Finance Delivery Plan: Meeting the US$100 Billion Goal and the collective actions contained therein. Heads urge developed country parties to fully deliver on the US$100 Billion Goal urgently and through to 2025, and emphasise the importance of transparency in the implementation of their pledges. Heads further called on developed countries to deliver on the goal to at least double the collective provision of climate finance for adaptation to developing country parties from 2019 levels by 2025 as agreed as part of the COP26 Glasgow Climate Pact.
    Heads noted the continuing efforts of the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub in assisting developing country members with human and institutional capacity to mobilise climate finance for NDC implementation, including development of bankable projects and climate policy support.
    Heads affirmed the importance of fully implementing the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on phasing down hydrofluorocarbons.
    Heads expressed their appreciation for the leading role women and young people play in galvanising support for climate action across the Commonwealth and committed to ensuring gender responsive implementation. Heads noted the Commonwealth Youth Statement on Climate Change with its call to support communities and safeguard the most vulnerable, including youth, women, the elderly, and persons with disabilities. This should be done by ensuring predictable finance to the local level to enable greater locally-led action.
48. With regard to Indigenous peoples, Heads acknowledged their leadership in the fight against climate change despite being disproportionately affected by its impacts. They recognised that Indigenous peoples and their local and traditional knowledge and practices, developed through millennia of environmental stewardship, are critical to addressing climate change and committed to enabling Indigenous climate leadership, grounded in respect for their rights and traditional knowledge.
    Heads noted the Climate Vulnerable Forum member countries’ ambition to scale up their commitments for safeguarding the most vulnerable from the impact of climate change, while supporting prosperity and resilience through investments in low carbon and climate-resilient technologies and infrastructure.
49. Heads adopted the Commonwealth Living Lands Charter, A Commonwealth Call to Action on Living Lands.
    Noting that food systems are both drivers and solutions to complex issues like hunger and malnutrition, climate change, and gender inequality, Heads recalled the importance of considering the implications of the combined effects of biodiversity loss, land degradation and climate change.
    Heads acknowledged that work remains to be done as member countries work towards COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh. They looked forward to working together with the global community to ensure true progress is made on climate action urgently in this critical decade.
50. Ocean Protection,:   Sustainable Blue Economies, Energy, and Natural Resources  Heads acknowledged the critical role of the ocean in mitigating and adapting to climate change and supporting sustainable blue economies for resilient economic recovery, especially for small island states. They reaffirmed their commitment to the Commonwealth Blue Charter, welcoming the progress made by the ten Action Groups, led by sixteen champion countries. Heads noted, inter alia, actions taken by countries on tackling marine plastic pollution, expanded ocean observations, ocean-based climate action, marine environmental protection, ecosystem restoration, and sustainable use of the ocean and strategies for blue economy.
    Heads recognised the value of Blue Charter actions in advancing progress towards SDG 14 (life below water). They welcomed the following examples of country leadership in advancing ocean research and education: the establishment by Antigua and Barbuda of a Centre of Excellence in Oceanography and the Blue Economy at the University of the West Indies Five Islands campus; and the establishment by Cyprus of a Blue Charter Centre of Excellence that will focus on governance for a sustainable blue economy, sustainable aquaculture, marine research, development and innovation. Heads welcomed and committed to take an active role during the second UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon in 2022.
    Heads also recognised that despite developing countries needing global support now more than ever to halt and reverse biodiversity loss in the ocean and on land, financial support remains insufficient. They noted the need to mobilise additional funding for an integrated and inclusive approach to financing the ocean, climate, and nature, to maximise co-benefits and leverage cost-effective ecosystem-based approaches. They called for additional investments from the philanthropic and private sector communities and mandated the Secretariat to develop robust and sustainable resourcing options and solutions to support cooperative activities by member countries under the Blue Charter. Heads encouraged the Secretariat to continue consideration of the establishment of a Blue Charter Action Fund. Heads recognised the need for the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean, seas, and marine resources and agreed to work on a declaration consistent with SDG 14 and the COP26 Glasgow Climate Pact.
    Heads welcomed efforts to protect the planet and the emerging global commitments for the conservation of biodiversity, but recognised that more action is needed.  Heads, in particular, recognised the agreement of an annual ocean and climate change dialogue in the COP26 Glasgow Climate Pact, the 2050 Vision of “Living in harmony with nature” under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, and the need to adopt an ambitious post-2020 global biodiversity framework in 2022. Heads welcomed efforts to protect the land and the ocean, and to sustainably manage the ocean and seas under national jurisdiction.
    Noting the historic resolution agreed at UN Environment Assembly 5.2 titled “End Plastic Pollution: Towards an International Legally Binding Instrument”, Heads welcomed efforts to convene an intergovernmental negotiating committee to develop an internationally legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, with the ambition of completing its work by the end of 2024 and agreed to continue to take action against plastic pollution while negotiations are ongoing.
    Heads also urged an ambitious outcome in the negotiations towards an international legally binding instrument under the UN Convention on the Law of Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction.
51. Heads noted that most greenhouse gas emissions stem from energy production and use and in this regard renewed their commitment to meet SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy). Heads welcomed the establishment of the Commonwealth Sustainable Energy Forum with its planned agenda for action and formation of action groups. They also reaffirmed their commitment to the sustainable development of energy and natural resources, finding them essential to an inclusive and resilient economic recovery.
    Heads welcomed the partnership between the Secretariat and the International Solar Alliance for the deployment of solar energy systems in Commonwealth member countries. They also welcomed the partnership between the Secretariat and Sustainable Energy for All to attract finance and investment in clean energy and low carbon development in small states, including SIDS. In this regard, Heads encouraged the development of further partnerships to support sustainable and clean energy transition and appropriate alternative energy infrastructure.
    Heads welcomed the completion of the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy, launched in 2015, creating a pan-Commonwealth network of forest conservation initiatives.
52. HEALTH :  Strengthening health systems and rapid response capacitiesecalling their previous statement on the COVID-19 pandemic, Heads acknowledged that addressing the pandemic has refocused attention on the importance of having strong, resilient and inclusive health systems, with integrated public health functions so member countries are better prepared to prevent, detect, respond and recover from health emergencies, including pandemics, natural disasters and the health impacts of climate change. Heads called for coordinated global action, including through bolstering national public health systems to strengthen health emergency, prevention, preparedness, and response capacities in line with International Health Regulations 2005 through a One Health approach.
    Heads recognised the need to tackle antimicrobial resistance and called for coordinated global action through a One Health approach to address the serious threat of antimicrobial resistance to human, animal, plant and environmental health, food safety, and food security, with the potential to undermine livelihoods, and put millions of people at risk of poverty, particularly in Commonwealth countries.
    Heads welcomed the commitment made at the World Health Assembly Special Session in 2021 to give consideration to the benefits of developing a WHO convention, agreement, or other international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response with a view to adoption under Article 19, or under other provisions of the WHO Constitution.
    They resolved to continue to work in cooperation with national, regional, and international partners to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and transition towards longer term COVID-19 control, by supporting universal, fair, timely, equitable and non-discriminatory access to and distribution of safe, efficacious, and affordable COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics. Heads noted the Secretariat’s partnership with the WHO to develop collaborative programmes to address global health issues, including COVID-19 response. Heads acknowledged the critical role played by front-line health workers, especially women, who saved thousands of lives under the most challenging circumstances, and pledge to motivate, protect and invest in them.
    Heads noted that countries with strong health systems, effectively integrated public health functions, and Universal Health Coverage (UHC), have been resilient during the COVID-19 pandemic. Heads resolved to allocate adequate resources to build sustainable, inclusive, and resilient health systems, with a focus on primary health care (PHC) and reaching those who are vulnerable or in vulnerable situations, that would accelerate progress towards the goal of UHC and strengthen preparedness for health emergencies, including for enabling an effective response to emergencies while maintaining access to essential health services.
    Heads committed to continue to implement the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel and the recommendations of the 2020 WHO expert advisory group on the relevance and effectiveness of the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel, to equitably strengthen health systems worldwide.
53. Noting the significant scientific tools and technologies that have been developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, Heads underscored the need to enhance research and innovation in healthcare technology as critical enablers for building strong health systems, including PHC infrastructure. To this end, Heads committed to strengthen collaboration and cooperation to share expertise and tools and forge partnerships across the Commonwealth family.
    Noting that the immunisation drive for COVID-19 relies on the availability of vaccines, logistics to store and transport vaccines and the capacity to administer vaccines, which involves several organisations and stakeholders, Heads underscored the need within Commonwealth countries to continue to strengthen collaboration between R&D institutes, improve the clinical trial ecosystem research and regulatory bodies, support health care worker training institutes, and explore avenues of regional and global cooperation in capacity building for local and regional vaccine production. They further encouraged clinical R&D collaborations and support for local manufacturers to increase sustainability in the supply of safe, effective and affordable therapeutics and vaccines, to reduce inequity in access. To this end, Heads underscored the significance of building transparent and unconstrained global supply chains for vaccine and pharmaceuticals raw materials.
    Heads committed to increasing efforts to support affordable, timely, equitable access to quality health services, including sexual and reproductive health services, and safe, efficacious, and affordable medicines, diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines. This includes COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, and other COVID-19 medical countermeasures, healthcare technologies and products, particularly for high-risk or vulnerable populations, including persons with disabilities. Heads appreciated the efforts of member countries to support each other in supplying vaccines and other COVID-19 related supplies. They further welcomed voluntary efforts by member countries to equitably share and distribute COVID-19 related supplies based on country need and in line with existing global efforts.
    Noting the achievements of several member countries in vaccinating their population against COVID-19, Heads underlined the need to achieve high vaccination rates in all member countries in line with national goals and WHO guidance. To this end, Heads encouraged all stakeholders to support government efforts to improve vaccine confidence and address vaccine hesitancy through clear, consistent and transparent messaging, and to provide accurate, accessible and timely information on COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, including to marginalised and vulnerable groups.
54. Reduction of Incidence of Non-Communicable and Communicable Diseases Heads renewed their commitment to promoting good nutrition and fighting malnutrition, and determined to take bold, multisectoral coordinated action to reduce the incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
    In keeping with the WHO’s Guidelines on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour and its Global Action Plan on Physical Activity, as well as the WHO Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of NCDs, Heads underscored the need to have intersectional and multisectoral actions that address the main risk factors, which include tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity and air pollution, including through enhancing the physical and mental health and well-being of citizens, while reducing population inequality in the prevalence of these risk factors.
    Heads noted the risks posed by climate change to health and health systems through its direct and indirect addition to the global burden of disease from communicable and non-communicable diseases, including malaria, neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and other vector-borne diseases. They also noted the need to ensure health systems are climate-resilient in order to prevent and respond effectively to climate-related illness and emergencies.
    Heads welcomed efforts towards halving malaria in Commonwealth countries by 2023, and committed to work towards ending the epidemic of malaria by 2030, in line with global, regional and national commitments. Given significant strain on health systems in the Commonwealth, Heads applauded country efforts to maintain essential malaria programming in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. They recognised that overall, the pandemic has contributed to increased malaria mortality in the Commonwealth, and therefore set back progress to the extent that the Commonwealth is currently not on track to halve either malaria cases or deaths by the end of 2023. Heads also committed to the delivery of the WHO’s ‘Ending the neglect to attain the Sustainable Development Goals: A road map for neglected tropical diseases (2021–2030)’, including through endorsing the Kigali Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases launched during CHOGM on 23 June 2022.
    Heads further resolved to continue the fight against other serious public health challenges such as HIV and AIDS, polio, and tuberculosis (TB). Heads looked forward to a successful Seventh Replenishment of the Global Fund in 2022, by US$ 18 billion, which will accelerate progress towards ending AIDS, TB and malaria by 2030, and strengthen health systems to respond to current and future pandemics.
    Heads noted with concern, that cervical cancer is still the most common cancer affecting women in many Commonwealth countries and, recalling the Ministerial Statement of the 33rd Commonwealth Health Ministers Meeting 2021, they resolved to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem, in line with the WHO’s ‘Global strategy to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem’. They also resolved to continue to take steps to ensure that by 2025, girls in the Commonwealth will have access to vaccination against human papilloma virus infection by age 13 in accordance with country contexts. Heads further underscored the importance of equitable access to quality sexual and reproductive health and rights services.
55. Taking note of the progress made in increasing access to quality eye care, including eliminating blinding trachoma and early detection of glaucoma, Heads encouraged a multi-pronged approach for access to screenings and affordable vision treatments, especially for children.
56. YOUTH  Youth Participation :  Heads took note of the fact that young people across the Commonwealth are mobilising to gain a greater voice in all public affairs, to call for systemic change and increased accountability from governments. With three out of every five citizens of the Commonwealth under age 30, young people play a pivotal role in achieving the 2030 Agenda. In this regard, Heads committed to increasing meaningful representation of youth in decision-making processes and mechanisms, including in conflict resolution and peacebuilding.
    Heads welcomed the 12th Commonwealth Youth Forum Declaration and action plan and pledged their continued commitment to mainstreaming youth priorities into national development policies and plans especially in the post-COVID-19 recovery context.
    Heads acknowledged the significant contribution made by the Commonwealth Youth Programme (CYP) in promoting youth development and youth work globally. In honouring the commitment made by Heads to establish the CYP in 1973, Heads declared 2023 a year dedicated to youth-led action for sustainable and inclusive development and called on all stakeholders at all levels to renew and strengthen their commitment to youth engagement and empowerment. Heads encouraged young people in member countries to work towards a renewed vision for the Commonwealth, founded on the principles and values of the Commonwealth Charter, and to work with all partners and stakeholders to build a fairer, more sustainable, more secure, and prosperous future. Heads further welcomed the announcement by Pakistan to host the next Commonwealth Youth Ministerial Meeting in Islamabad in January 2023.
57. Youth and Employment :Heads recognised the role and important contribution of non-formal education and its role in the development of young people’s knowledge, skills, and competencies for the labour market. To this end, they noted the launch of the Commonwealth Alliance for Quality Youth Leadership, promoting non-formal education and learning, to support the training and capacity building of young people across the Commonwealth.
    In line with SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth), Heads urged better coordinated action in partnership with youth to address the unemployment of those who have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Resultantly, they noted the Commonwealth Commitment from Employers initiative to fully engage the private sector on this priority. Furthermore, recognising the importance of an enabling environment for youth development in the Commonwealth, Heads welcomed the 2020 Global Youth Development Index and Report.
58. Education :  Heads stressed the right to education and they reaffirmed the role of governments in offering 12 years of quality and inclusive education and ensuring children can catch up on lost learning.  They also noted the need to further strengthen education systems during the current health crisis, to eliminate inequalities in the education sector, ensure foundational learning for all and promote inclusion of marginalised communities who have been impacted the most by the COVID-19 pandemic. They also acknowledged the importance of an accessible, affordable, high quality early learning and childcare system. In order to contribute to the global knowledge economy and to make higher institutions of learning relevant and sustainable, Heads affirmed their support for higher education and research.
    Heads recognised the importance of human capital for sustainable development and welcomed the outcome of the recent 21st Commonwealth Conference of Education Ministers, which focussed on resilience and sustainability; learning technologies; leadership in education; transitions within and outside the education system; addressing disparities; and financing of education. Heads also expressed support for the Kenyatta Call to Action on Education Finance, adopted at the Global Partnership for Education Summit in London in 2021, and committed to efficient and innovative financing of education in accordance with country contexts.
    Heads expressed concern that young people and their futures were severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic regarding their education, social interactions, and economic opportunities, impacting their mental health and well-being. Additionally, the pandemic has had a disproportionate effect on the poorest and the most vulnerable, children, persons with disabilities, and adolescent girls, some of whom are at an increased risk of sexual and gender-based violence and other harmful practices due to school closures.
    Heads acknowledged the transformative impact of technologies on education and committed to addressing the digital divide and the digital skills gap, with particular attention to supporting disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, through appropriate access to technology and enhanced teacher capacity. Heads also noted the value of digital skills, vocational and trade skills, non-formal education, and lifelong learning, emphasising the key role which education and skills play in the drive towards the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
    They welcomed the renewed commitment of the Secretariat, the Association of Commonwealth Universities, and the Commonwealth of Learning to working together to help member countries achieve the 2030 Agenda through the Commonwealth Education Partnership. Heads also recognised the achievements of the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan which celebrated its 60thanniversary in 2019.
59. Transport Safety :  Heads expressed concern about road traffic injuries, now considered to be the leading cause of death of children and young people worldwide. They supported action in line with the UN General Assembly Resolution 74/299 on improving global road safety and committed to attaining the SDG target 3.6 to reduce road traffic deaths by at least 50 percent by 2030 compared to 2020 levels.
60. Heads expressed concern about the significant loss of life at sea and inland waterways and encouraged member countries to implement appropriate sea-safety regulations for seafarers and fishers at national levels, in line with relevant International Maritime Organization regulations. In addition, Heads called for member countries to assess and address any gaps in the training and competence of seafarers as it relates to the safe crewing and operation of vessels. Heads recognised the severe impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on seafarers and underscored the importance of seafarers as key workers to world trade.
61. Sport for Development and Peace :  Heads reaffirmed their commitment to sport and physical activity as enablers of sustainable development. Heads welcomed the Commonwealth Consensus Statement on Promoting Human Rights in and through Sport and expressed condemnation of all forms of racism and discrimination in and through sport.  Heads further reiterated that protecting the integrity of sport and human rights in sport, including gender equality, are necessary preconditions for maximising positive impact. They recognised the need to strengthen legal, policy and institutional frameworks to prevent and respond to different manifestations of corruption and crime in sport at all levels.  Heads recognised sports as an avenue for advocacy for peaceful co-existence, income generation, and social development and called for the adoption of a common approach to measure the contribution of sport to the 2030 Agenda in Commonwealth countries.
    TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION :  Cyberspace  Heads recognised that Commonwealth governments must work proactively to ensure that technological progress promotes social and economic equalities. To advance SDG 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure), they urged member countries to prioritise secure, inclusive, and affordable access to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) including the provision of universal and affordable broadband. Heads also underscored the need for governments to invest in critical infrastructure for digital access.
    Heads reaffirmed their commitment to equipping citizens, especially women, girls, young people, and others facing inequality, with the skills necessary to fully benefit from innovation and opportunities in cyberspace. They committed to ensuring inclusive access for all, eliminating discrimination in cyberspace, and adopting online safety policies for all users, especially children, whilst upholding human rights.
    Heads renewed their commitment under the 2018 Commonwealth Cyber Declaration, to a free, open, inclusive, and secure cyberspace. They urged member countries to fully respect human rights online, as well as offline, and to promote practices that build trust and confidence in digital systems with measures such as: information sharing efforts amongst national Computer Emergency Response Teams; cyber capacity building; having effective data protection and privacy laws; countering online disinformation, misinformation and abuse or advocacy of hate, constituting incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence; and stepping-up enforcement, alignment and development of cybercrime laws devoid of online/offline racial and hatred incitement, by enhancing international cooperation to tackle existing and emerging cybercrime. In this regard, Heads supported UN efforts to develop a comprehensive international convention on cybercrime.
62. Sustainable urbanisation: smart and resilient sustainable cities and communities Heads noted that the Commonwealth is home to one third of the world’s population and nearly 50 percent of the projected increase of the world’s urban population by mid-century. They reiterated their commitment under SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities) to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, and resilient. To this end, Heads adopted the Declaration on Sustainable Urbanisation.
    Heads underscored the intrinsic value of sustainable urbanisation to harness structural transformation for the world’s urban populations, particularly those in Commonwealth countries. Heads noted that while the COVID-19 pandemic reversed some gains made in urban development and exposed systemic inequalities creating new vulnerabilities, it also created new opportunities to address social inclusion, and brought to the fore the centrality and importance of the right to an adequate standard of living, including housing. As such, Heads committed to prioritising the provision of affordable and social housing to mitigate the proliferation of informal settlements, promote social inclusion and cushion the urban poor from social-cultural and economic shocks.
63. Building a Commonwealth Innovation Ecosystem :  Heads noted the launch and development of the Commonwealth Innovation Hub as a knowledge sharing digital platform. Heads underscored the urgency and necessity of scaling up innovation, data science, and digital transformation initiatives. They urged member countries to bridge the digital divide within and among countries through transformational partnerships, and to adopt an open, citizen-centric, and evidence-based approach to developing a Commonwealth innovation ecosystem that is inclusive and equitable and delivers sustainable development for all.
64. Commonwealth Renewal :  Heads endorsed the recommendations of the 26 September 2019 Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting. They further endorsed the corresponding revisions of the 2005 Revised Agreed Memorandum as agreed by the Board of Governors on 4 December 2019, both of which now enter into effect. Heads committed to continue consideration of Commonwealth reforms and renewal.
65. Membership :  Heads warmly welcomed the Maldives back into the Commonwealth.
66. Country Situations :  Heads expressed their full and enduring support for the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and unity of the Republic of Cyprus. They reiterated their support for the resumption of negotiations, under the auspices of the United Nations Secretary General’s Good Offices Mission, for a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem based on the United Nations Charter and United Nations Security Council Resolutions on Cyprus in accordance with the wishes of the Cypriot people and based on a bicommunal, bizonal federation with political equality as set out in relevant Security Council Resolutions.
67. Heads called for the implementation of relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs), especially UNSCRs 365(1974), 541(1983), 550(1984), and 1251(1999). Recalling also United Nations Security Council resolutions and its Presidential Statements on Varosha condemning the announcement by Turkish and Turkish Cypriot leaders on the further reopening of a part of the fenced-off area,
68. Heads expressed their deep regret regarding unilateral actions that run contrary to those resolutions and statements and reiterated the calls made for their immediate reversal and for full respect and implementation of relevant UNSC resolutions. Heads reiterated their support for full respect of the human rights of all Cypriots including their right to property, and for the accounting for all missing persons. Heads underlined the importance of confidence building measures and urged the sides to work together for their timely implementation, as well as to reinvigorate the efforts to provide the necessary support to the work of the technical committees. Heads extended their solidarity in the exercise of the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus in its Exclusive Economic Zone under international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and called for the avoidance of actions and statements that undermine these rights and threaten stability in the Eastern Mediterranean. Heads also noted the many important benefits, including economic benefits for all Cypriots that would flow from a comprehensive and durable solution, which would constitute a strong incentive for all parties.
69. Heads reaffirmed their full solidarity with the Government and the people of Bangladesh, deeply affected by the influx of over 1 million forcibly displaced Rohingya from Rakhine State in Myanmar. Heads expressed grave concern at the gross human rights violations and atrocities perpetrated by the security and armed forces of Myanmar on the Rohingya, and other ethnic and religious minorities. Noting the UN General Assembly resolution 76/180 that authorised investigation of alleged crimes related to the situation in Myanmar, Heads welcomed the role of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), as applicable, in adjudicating violations of international law. Heads commended the humanitarian commitment and efforts of the Bangladesh Government, in cooperation with UN agencies and the international community, in providing sustained assistance and temporary shelter to the persecuted Rohingya.
70. Heads acknowledged the extensive investments made by Bangladesh in its Bhasan Char project, including the facilities and infrastructure.  Heads underscored the importance of early implementation of the general agreement and arrangements reached between the Governments of Bangladesh and Myanmar. Heads also called for action to address the root causes of the current crisis, including through the immediate implementation of the Rakhine Advisory (Kofi Annan) Commission recommendations. Welcoming the work and reports of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on Myanmar, and the ASEAN Chair’s Special Envoy on Myanmar, urging the Myanmar military authorities to grant them full access to Myanmar, Heads called for the creation of the necessary conducive conditions for the voluntary, safe, secure and sustainable return of all such displaced Rohingya sheltered in Bangladesh to their rightful homes in Myanmar.
71. Heads noted the decision made by the ICJ on 18 December 2020, that it has jurisdiction to entertain the Application filed by Guyana on 29 March 2018, paving the way for the ICJ to consider the merits of the case concerning the Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899 (Guyana v. Venezuela). They also noted that Guyana had submitted its Memorial on 8 March 2022, in accordance with the schedule set by the ICJ to hear the case, concerning the validity of the Arbitral Award of 1899 and the related question of the definitive settlement of the land boundary between the two countries. Heads reiterated their full support for the ongoing judicial process that is intended to bring a peaceful and definitive end to the long-standing controversy between the two countries. Heads reaffirmed their firm and unwavering support for the maintenance and preservation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Guyana.
72. Heads expressed their support for the ongoing process at the ICJ with respect to Guatemala’s territorial, insular and maritime claims against the territory of Belize. They condemned the continuing illegal encroachments and settlements in Belize’s territory and urged Guatemala to abide by and implement the Confidence Building Measures, which are valid and in force. They also reiterated their call for both countries and the Organization of American States (OAS) to finally fulfil their commitment to design a mechanism of co-operation for the Sarstoon River. They commended the OAS for work in maintaining peace and security along the border and supporting efforts towards a final and peaceful settlement of the dispute. Heads strongly reaffirmed the Commonwealth’s firm and longstanding support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Belize.
73. Commonwealth Collaboration :  Heads expressed appreciation for the work and reports of the Secretariat, the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), the Commonwealth Foundation, Accredited Organisations, Commonwealth ministerial meetings, and the report of the CHOGM Forums. Heads also appreciated the good collaboration between the Commonwealth and the UN, as well as other partners and regional bodies.
    Heads commended the COL for providing expertise and resources in distance and online learning to ministries and institutions as they dealt with closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It provided capacity building for teachers and recommended technology solutions to reach the unreached. COL is encouraged to scale up its activities to help member countries accelerate progress towards achieving SDG 4 (quality education) by promoting equitable and quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all, especially women and girls. Heads appreciated COL’s workforce recovery support to thousands of youths across the Commonwealth, leading to skilling and reskilling for livelihoods.
74. Acknowledging that the Commonwealth is as much an association of peoples as of governments, Heads commended the Commonwealth Foundation for its commitment to nurturing the growth of vibrant and free societies throughout the Commonwealth, and the work it has been doing to champion the active and constructive participation of people in all aspects of governance. Heads especially welcomed the Foundation’s new thematic approach, which is ‘prioritising health, climate, and freedom of expression’, with a special focus on small and vulnerable states. Heads agreed to continue, where appropriate, their support for and active engagement in the important work of the Foundation.
75. CHOGM :  Heads expressed their profound gratitude to the Government and people of the Republic of Rwanda for the warm hospitality extended to them and congratulated President Paul Kagame for his leadership in chairing the meeting. They also expressed their warm appreciation to His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales for his attendance at their meeting, representing Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth, in the year of Her Platinum Jubilee. Heads welcomed and accepted the offer of Samoa to host the next CHOGM.

The Republic of Rwanda

https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2022/06/25/communique-commonwealth-heads-government-meeting-chogm-delivering

 

PM launches  initiatives to capitalise on Commonwealth advantage

The Prime Minister will announce a raft of new trade and investment initiatives to create jobs, growth and shared prosperity across the Commonwealth.

From:
Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street and The Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP

Published 23 June 2022

Prime Minister announces UK intention to transform trade with the fast-growing economies of the Commonwealth as CHOGM gets underway :

PM will launch plans for landmark Developing Countries Trading Scheme as well as new Platinum Partnership trade alliances and financial Centres of Expertise
Investment highlights include new £124m UK Export Finance loan to help British businesses improve healthcare in Guyana and UK health tech export wins worth almost £40m in India

The Prime Minister will announce a raft of new trade and investment initiatives to create jobs, growth and shared prosperity across the Commonwealth, as he arrives in Rwanda today [Thursday] for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

The Commonwealth brings together a third of the world’s population, including some of its fastest-growing economies and cities. Investment is already 27 percent higher between Commonwealth countries and bilateral trading costs are on average a fifth lower due to shared language and legal and economic systems – known as the ‘Commonwealth Advantage’.

Today’s announcements aim to capitalise on this unique union, supporting economic development overseas while fostering new markets for British expertise and exports.

The Prime Minister will drive this agenda forward when he meets innovative UK companies like Bboxx and Ampersand at the Commonwealth Business Forum in Kigali later today, as well as holding meetings on the UK-backed African Continental Free Trade Agreement and future of sustainable aviation fuel. He will be joined by John Humphrey, the newly-appointed HM Trade Commissioner for Africa.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:

“It is an underappreciated fact that our unique union of nations is buzzing with economic activity. Trade and commerce ties criss-cross continents, greased by shared language and legal systems.

“The Commonwealth contains some of the world’s fastest growing economies and dynamic cities, from Chennai to Cape Town. The new initiatives we are launching today will ensure the UK is at the forefront of seizing opportunities, driving shared growth and prosperity for the benefit of all of our people. I am more optimistic than ever that the people of Africa and every member of the Commonwealth can thrive and prosper through free enterprise.”

In the year of the Queen’s Jubilee, the UK will introduce new Platinum Partnerships to turbocharge our trade with key Commonwealth countries, as well as five new virtual Centres of Expertise to provide in-depth advice and coaching on green growth, infrastructure, financial services, public finance and trade.

The Prime Minister will also confirm plans to launch the ambitious Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) in the coming weeks, replacing the Generalised Scheme of Preferences we had under the EU to reduce costs and simplify trading rules for 65 developing countries. The DCTS will reduce import tariffs on foodstuffs, clothing and other items by over £750m per year, benefiting businesses in 18 Commonwealth countries and helping to bring down prices for UK consumers.

This builds on the UK’s financial and technical support for the African Continental Free Trade Area, which is expected lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty and generate $450 billion for African nations – nine times more than they received in development aid in 2019.

The Commonwealth’s GDP has risen by a quarter since 2017 and is forecast to jump by close to another 50 per cent to $19.5 trillion over the next five years, creating exciting new export markets for UK businesses. UK Export Finance will announce today support worth £124 million to modernise and expand Georgetown Public Hospital in Guyana, creating 256 new hospital beds and state of the art maternity facility to reduce post-natal mortality rates. More than 40 percent of the services and supplies for the project will come from UK providers.

The Prime Minister will also welcome significant new India health export deals for the UK firm Isansys and the Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation, building on the £1bn worth of trade and investment wins secured on his visit to India. Later today, the PM is expected to set out transformative new investments in clean and green technology at the Commonwealth Business Forum.

 

 

PM speech at the Commonwealth Business Forum

Prime Minister Boris Johnson delivered a speech at the Commonwealth Business Forum.

From:
Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street and The Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP
Published
23 June 2022

Location:
Rwanda
Delivered on:
23 June 2022 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)

Your Excellencies,

ladies and gentlemen,

how absolutely wonderful to be here in Kigali for our long delayed family reunion, as the Commonwealth

I’m sorry to say I missed the dancing last night, Jonathan, very good to see you strutting your funky stuff, in the way that you were. Let’s hear it for Jonathan Marland on the dance floor

By the way the weather is absolutely lovely here in Rwanda today, but I’ve got to tell you, here’s an amazing statistic – it’s actually hotter in London – or so my staff just told me.

This is a very very timely meeting, as Jonathan has just said we’ve all come out of the misery of the covid lockdowns and look at what is going on in the world today – unfortunately we still see economic pressures

And we’re seeing spikes in the cost of energy, spikes in the cost of food, and of fertiliser

I was talking about this with Paul Kagame just now

But what if there was a miracle fertiliser, a fertiliser of business, that grew your business, that expanded your profits and cut your costs, by 21%

There is such a fertiliser, and I’ll tell you the ingredients

It’s perfectly harmless, it’s organic, there are no phosphates, no nitrates, it won’t cause algal bloom

I’ll tell you what the ingredients are, it’s a common language, it’s familiar sense of our legal and administrative systems, it’s a shared sense of mutual trust between us,

and that fertiliser is called the Commonwealth

I can prove it

that fertiliser knocks 21 percent off the cost of trade between Commonwealth members. That’s 21 percent bigger profits if you do deals between the Commonwealth

that’s 21 percent efficiencies without the expense of management consultants

And now is the time, my friends, to turbocharge those advantages,

because over the next five years,

the Commonwealth’s total GDP is forecast to rise by nearly 50 per cent to $19.5 trillion.

And these are the markets, super fertilised markets that will power growth and prosperity and create jobs in our countries,

and at the same time help to ease those pressures that we all face on the cost of living.

So we are going ahead,

And in the UK we’re striking free trade agreements across the Commonwealth:

we’ve done Australia,

we’ve done New Zealand,

we’re going to do a deal with India by Diwali,

we’ve signed free trade or economic partnership agreements with 33 of our Commonwealth friends – so far –

and through the Trans-Pacific Partnership,

we’re aiming for new deals with Malaysia and Brunei.

By the way it’s fantastic to see the birth of the African Continental Free Trade Area, isn’t that going to be a wonderful thing

It’s going to be the biggest in the world,

1.3 billion people,

promising to lift 30 million out of extreme poverty

and generate $450 billion for African nations,

which, by the way, is far far more than Africa could ever receive in development aid.

And I massively support that new Africa free trade area,

I remember the UK helped to found the European free trade area many years ago, which then got taken over by something called the European Union, but never mind that

I don’t necessarily advise by the way that you turn the African free trade area into a single currency but I  leave that wholly to you. And that will be a matter entirely for Africa.

But we want to support this project, and we’re backing the new secretariat in Accra,

and as African countries remove trade barriers from their borders,

we’re making it easier to sell to the UK

because on 6th July

we’re launching a new preferential trade system for 65 developing countries,

including Rwanda and 17 other Commonwealth members.

liberalising our tariffs, getting rid of those pointless tariffs that are totally vexatious, that cost more to collect than the revenues you get from them

abolishing the nuisance tariffs – they exist

and improving our rules of origin to make it easier for all our countries to benefit.

And what I feel so strongly about the Commonwealth is it’s not just about imports and exports – it’s about the partnerships we build

it’s about doing more together to ensure that everyone prospers from the new green industrial revolution.

I saw some of you, I’m proud to say, at the Africa Investment Summit in London in 2020, remember that – just before covid struck, a moment of real optimism

I want you to know we’ll do the same again next year, and I hope to see again in London next year

and it’s great to announce

that British International Investment putting £160 million into hydropower in Africa,

creating 180,000 jobs, including here in Rwanda,

while at the same time cutting carbon emissions, generating electricity for 3 million people.

Many African countries, I’ve mentioned the sun in London today – it’s exceptional – I hope you’ll understand I’m not bragging about the sun in London, it’s not as consistent as it is here in Africa

And many African countries are blessed with the ability to power economies entirely by hydro, and solar and wind energy

Am incredible fact, Uhuru told me this, Kenya, gets 90 percent of its electricity from renewable sources already

and they’re aiming for 100 percent by 2030.

And I see a fantastic future for all of us in these initiatives, for all of us

And we, with our Clean Green Initiative in the UK want to be the partner of choice of our African friends

as you transform millions of lives with modern infrastructure,

meeting the highest standards of transparency and environmental protection.

And it’s because free enterprise generates the resources for better health and education, which is what we’re trying to do, better outcomes for our people

that here in Rwanda

infant mortality is down by almost 80 percent since the year 2000,

nine out of ten people have health insurance in this country,

virtually every child goes to school.

And that is the kind of future that we want to build together

And all I will see to you in conclusion my friends, is    we in the UK have the technology,

the City of London certainly has the finance,

the Government that I’m proud to lead has the will,

and our wonderful wonderful Commonwealth, that great institution, has the super fertiliser, to be sprinkled across this extraordinary grouping of countries

and above all to help to help you forge a new Africa,

sharing your optimism that the people of this continent

and every member of the Commonwealth

can thrive and prosper from free trade and free enterprise.

 

 

PM pledges new support for countries on the food security frontline

The PM is today committing a significant package of support to help countries hit the hardest by rising global food costs and shortages of fertiliser.

From:
Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street and The Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP
Published
24 June 2022

UK to provide an additional £372 million for countries most impacted by rising global food prices
47 million more facing acute hunger as a result of climate change, the pandemic, and Russia’s assault on Ukraine
UK funding will support emergency food aid, malnutrition programmes and scientific advances in agriculture

The Prime Minister is today [Friday] committing a significant package of support to help countries hit the hardest by rising global food costs and shortages of fertiliser, including many Commonwealth states.

Driven by the war in Ukraine, global food prices have hit a 50-year high. More than 275 million people worldwide were already facing acute hunger at the start of 2022 – according to the UN that is expected to increase by 47 million people if the conflict continues, with the steepest rises in sub-Saharan Africa. Price spikes are also pushing households into crippling poverty, with a further 1.4 million expected to be driven below the poverty line in Kenya, for example, as a result of the global crisis.

The Prime Minister is pledging £372 million in aid today to provide immediate and longer-term relief to countries on the frontline of this crisis.

The UK is also working with allies to break Russia’s immoral blockade of Ukraine’s grain exports and address global supply issues. The Prime Minister will commit to look at the UK’s own demands on land and use of biofuel ahead of the G7 – globally, the use of grain for biofuel is contributing to reduced availability and increased costs for human consumption.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:

While Vladimir Putin continues his futile and unprovoked war in Ukraine and cravenly blockades millions of tonnes of grain, the world’s poorest people are inching closer to starvation.

The Government has put in place an unprecedented package of support to help the most vulnerable households in the UK deal with the rising cost of living.

But it is also right that we step up to support countries on the frontlines of conflict and climate change, where an increase in the price of bread can mean the difference between a child living or dying.  From emergency food aid to reviewing our own biofuel use, the UK is playing its part to address this pernicious global crisis.

The package announced today includes:

£130 million for the World Food Programme this financial year, to fund their lifesaving work around the world including in Commonwealth countries in Africa, Asia and the Americas
£133 million for research and development partnerships with world-leading agricultural and scientific organisations to develop and implement cutting-edge technologies to improve food security, such as new drought-resistant crop varieties.
£52 million for UN’s global emergency response fund, the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). CERF allocated $100 million (£80m) in April for an urgent response to seven countries at risk of famine.
£37 million for the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development [IFAD], to work with the private sector and governments to address poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries.
£17.7 million through the FCDO’s Green Growth Centre of Expertise to improve the effective use of fertiliser and increase food production in countries including Rwanda, Kenya and Ghana.
£2 million for the Nutrition Match Fund, which matches governments’ national spending on addressing wasting – the most acute and deadly form of child malnutrition – pound-for-pound. The fund was launched last November and has already supported treatments in Commonwealth countries like Nigeria and Mozambique, and the UK is encouraging other donors to step up.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said:

At least 140 million people across Africa are already suffering from food insecurity, and millions more are facing food shortages as a result of Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine. Putin is using food as a weapon on a global scale.

The UK’s vital funding will provide humanitarian aid to increase access to food across the worst hit African countries , and help protect millions of people at risk from a growing global food disaster.

Ukraine produces as much as half the world’s sunflower seeds, a tenth of its wheat and up to a fifth of barley and rapeseed, and many African countries import a significant proportion of their fertiliser, wheat and vegetable oils from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. Russia’s blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports is preventing the export of up to 23 million metric tonnes of grain, and the conflict will significantly impact the next harvest.

The African Development Bank claims that shortfalls in fertilizer supply mean Africa could lose a fifth of its food production in the next two harvesting seasons, worsening food insecurity in developing countries already struggling to cope with climate change, the fall-out from the pandemic and domestic conflicts.

 

 

PM hails Green Industrial Revolution ‘sweeping across Africa’

The Prime Minister welcomes major new UK investments and public-private partnerships.

From:
Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street and The Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP
Published
23 June 2022

 

PM hails Green Industrial Revolution ‘sweeping across Africa’

PM set welcomes transformative new investments in clean energy at Commonwealth Business Forum in Kigali today
UK government support and private sector partnerships back hydropower across Africa and renewable energy supply in Uganda
UK also commits a further £36m to help small island states protect their ocean economies

The Prime Minister will welcome major new UK investments and public-private partnerships which are turbocharging the clean energy transition in Africa, as he attends the Commonwealth Business Forum in Kigali today.

Two projects supported British International Investment (BII) – the UK’s development finance institution – will invest massively in hydropower across Africa and upgrade Uganda’s power stations to boost renewable energy capacity.

The UK will also commit an additional £36 million to boost sustainable growth in Small Island Developing States’ critical maritime economy. The funding will support UK scientific expertise and resources for small island governments to sustainably monetise their ocean resources, while protecting the marine environment.

The Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:

“The Green Industrial Revolution is sweeping across Africa, backed by British financing and technical expertise. The continent’s abundant natural resources can be harnessed to provide cheap, reliable sources of energy for its people and industries, without contributing to the rising global temperatures that are already devastating communities.

“The UK Government is leading the way, supporting sustainable green infrastructure across the Commonwealth and opening new opportunities for Britain’s leading clean tech companies to grow their business around the world.”

British International Investment will provide up to £162 million [$200m USD] of capital investment in the hydropower sector in Africa, partnered with Norway’s Norfund in a joint venture with energy firm Scatec.

The partnership is expected to create 180,000 jobs and provide enough electricity to meet the needs of more than 3 million people, while slashing greenhouse gas emissions. Initial projects include the proposed 205MW Ruzizi III hydropower plant which will provide energy for Rwanda, DRC and Burundi, and the construction of Malawi’s largest power plant.

Gridworks, a UK Government-funded subsidiary of BII, has also signed a cooperation agreement with the Government of Uganda this week to invest up to $90 million [£73m] to develop their national grid. The project will upgrade four critical electricity substations in Uganda to boost their capacity to absorb renewable energy to supply industrial customers.

Uganda already gets 80 percent of its energy from renewable sources, but has the potential to generate far more if storage and transmission infrastructure is improved.

 

 

UK invests in  Commonwealth with new education programmes

The UK is committing a further £217 million for three major education projects across Commonwealth countries today.

From:
Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street, The Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss MP, and The Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP
Published 25 June 2022

PM pledges an additional £217 million to support girls’ education across the Commonwealth
UK is committed to getting 40 million more girls into school around the world by 2026
Announcement comes as the PM attends meetings on youth and global challenges at the CHOGM Leaders Retreat

The UK is committing a further £217 million for three major education projects across Commonwealth countries today [Saturday], on the final day of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

The funding will support global education data gathering, teacher training in Rwanda and programmes to get girls and vulnerable children into school in Pakistan.

Today’s announcements build on the UK’s track record. Between 2015 and 2020, the UK helped 8.1 million girls around the world to get a decent education. As President of the G7 last year, we led a collective commitment to get 40 million more girls into school and 20 million more reading by 2026.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:

There are no easy fixes in this world, but the closest thing we have to a silver bullet is girls’ education.

By giving all children the chance to get at least 12 years of good schooling, we create more stable, prosperous and happy societies.

The UK is proud to be a world leader in championing girls’ education. The funding announced today will help end the injustice of education inequality and give millions more children the chance of a better life.

The Prime Minister also co-hosted the Global Education Summit in London last year with President Kenyatta, raising a record $4 billion to get children into school around the world.

Up £60 million of today’s pledge will go to the Girls in Rwanda Learn (GIRL) programme. Complementing Rwanda’s impressive achievements in education, the project will work with the Government to improve teachers’ English language skills and provide technical support, to further improve the quality of education and ensure girls remain in school.

The biggest funding allocation – up to £130 million – will go to GOAL’s Action for Learning Project to help girls and vulnerable children get back into the classroom in Pakistan. The programme will reduce barriers and schooling costs for girls, and work with the local authorities to train teachers and improve school management.

The Data for Foundational Learning Programme, which will receive £27 million, supports UNESCO to track children’s learning outcomes globally. With better data on literacy and numeracy, policymakers can understand what works and share resources.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said:

Supporting women and girls is at the heart of UK foreign policy. Investing in girls’ education is vital for a more sustainable, peaceful and prosperous future.

We are working with our international partners to recover the learning lost during the Covid pandemic, getting 40 million more girls into school and 20 million more girls reading by 2026.

Every girl deserves an education and at CHOGM we are helping to make this happen.

The UK is also playing a leading role in supporting women’s economic empowerment and tackling gender-based violence across the Commonwealth. This week the Government has confirmed a further £1m in funding for the SheTradesprogramme, which supports women-owned businesses.

Since 2018 SheTrades Commonwealth has directly supported over 3,500 female entrepreneurs in Bangladesh, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria, helping to generate over £32m of sales for those women-owned businesses and supporting the creation of more than 6,600 jobs.

The Prime Minister will attend the Leaders Retreat today for discussions on youth, innovation, and global challenges like rising food prices, on the final day of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

 

 

 

PM remarks at the CHOGM press conference:    24 June 2022

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s remarks at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting Press Conference this afternoon.

From:
Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street and The Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP
Published 24 June 2022

Location: Rwanda
Delivered on:  24 June 2022 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)

It is an extraordinary and moving experience to be here in Rwanda today. A country that experienced some of the worst horrors of the 20th century in recent memory, and now finds itself with a thriving social and economic life and near-universal primary education.

Today, Rwanda is hosting leaders representing two-thirds of the world’s population, stretching from the remotest islands of the Pacific to the southern tip of Africa.

Rwanda was never a British colony – it joined the Commonwealth of its own volition in 2009, recognising the benefits that come from being part of a progressive alliance representing two thirds of the world’s population and some of its fastest-growing economies.

As many British Prime Ministers before me – and of course both her Majesty the Queen and the Prince of Wales – have recognised, there are few forums more quietly important for our nation’s peace, prosperity and global influence.

We benefit from the incredible Commonwealth advantage – the ‘fertilizer’ I talked about yesterday – of shared language and institutions, which opens doors and cuts the costs of doing business.

We want to seize those opportunities, and that’s why I announced this week major new British investments in green infrastructure projects, as well as trade schemes designed to break down the barriers to doing business.

This is where the UK is positioning ourselves post-Brexit, in close alliance with our European neighbours but also deepening our ties with old friends in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

More trade, more commerce brings prosperity and stability to other countries, but it also cuts costs for British consumers and opens opportunities for UK businesses –  jobs and growth at home.

Unfortunately, that global prosperity and stability is being threatened by Vladmir Putin’s unprovoked assault on Ukraine.

Many of the countries represented here in Kigali today find themselves bearing the brunt of Putin’s folly, their populations brought closer to poverty by spiralling food and energy costs.

I know of course, and deeply appreciate, that many families and businesses in the UK have been hit hard as well by the rising cost of living.

That is why in our country the Chancellor has introduced an unprecedented package of financial support to support the most vulnerable households.

But we should also recognise the challenges around the world.

The UN estimates that an additional 48 million people will be pushed into acute hunger this year – that is, to the point of starvation – caused by climate change and post-pandemic supply shortages but also by the war in Ukraine.

I spoke to President Zelenskyy last week in Kyiv last week about how we can unblock Russia’s blockade of Ukraine’s grain exports.

But today we are also announcing a new £372 million package of UK aid.

That funding will support the UN’s emergency response in the hardest-hit countries, as well as providing cutting-edge science partnerships to look at drought-resistant crops and new agricultural techniques.

And as I go tomorrow night to the G7 in Germany we will also commit to looking at what more richer countries can do to bring down global commodity prices and increase food supplies to get the world economy back on track and stick up for the freedoms in which we all believe.

Thank you very much.

Published 24 June 2022

 

 

Boris Johnson fails to oust Lady Scotland from Commonwealth role

PM publicly stated he was supporting her Jamaican rival, which Scotland’s supporters said was an abuse of his position

At the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Kigali, it was confirmed that Scotland had been reappointed for two more years.

Rajeev Syal
Fri 24 Jun 2022 16.46 BST

Boris Johnson’s attempt to unseat a Labour peer from the role of the Commonwealth secretary general has failed, in another blow to his credibility. No 10 had been working behind the scenes for nearly two years to remove Patricia Scotland, claiming that she had failed to modernise the institution after nearly six years in the job. A meeting deciding whether to replace Lady Scotland with Jamaica’s foreign minister, Kamina Johnson Smith, who was supported by the UK government, ran over by several hours as leaders struggled to reach a verdict. After several hours, it was confirmed that Johnson Smith had lost and Scotland was reappointed for two more years. The next election will be in 2024.

 Scotland said: “It is deeply humbling to have been reappointed as secretary general of this great Commonwealth. To continue to serve our family of nations is a true honour and a privilege and I will do so to the best of my ability. We will face the world’s challenge with unity and purpose.”

In May, the prime minister publicly stated that he was supporting her rival to the role. Johnson said “the UK” supported the candidacy of the Jamaican minister of foreign affairs for her “vast experience and support to unite our unique family of nations and seize opportunities ahead”.

Supporters of Scotland claimed that Johnson’s backing of one candidate, at a time when the UK is supposed to be the neutral scrutiniser of the election process, was an abuse of his position and that he had compromised the UK’s role.

Johnson Smith tweeted: “Thanking all the countries and people who supported me in this journey! As I said to many of you, if I didn’t pull through, God wasn’t ready for me to leave Jamaica yet! Much love always, I continue to serve, and of course, sincere congratulations to Baroness Scotland.”

At  a press conference, Johnson rejected the idea that he had been dealt a blow by the decision by Commonwealth leaders to keep Scotland and instead insisted it was a “good day for democracy”.

“What is the Commonwealth? It is an amazing group of 54 countries that share values and in particular, the idea of democracy, and I work well with Baroness Scotland – have done for a very long time since I became foreign secretary, I think – and look forward to working well with her in the next couple of years.

“This is a crucial time for the Commonwealth. I think people are looking more and more to this institution, more and more countries want to join it, they see the value of it.”

Johnson said it was important that the Commonwealth secretariat delivered value for members.

Moderates are disappointed by the continued  African  domination of this international organisation  by countries who are there only for aid and other benefits. Vulgar, obscene demonstrations instigated by Caribbean leaders during the royal visits for the platinum jubilee proved that there is no respect or loyalty for the unsurpassed Head of State in Caricom.

It is time to appoint an Asia-Pacific – Canadian leader to increase diversity and impose civilised behaviour in  member states. The Labour peer  is guilty  of squandering public  funds on decorating her home, of cronyism  and of  presiding over the massive election rigging by racist losers  in Guyana in 2020 when the US Secretary of State finally rescued democracy from criminals and installed the winners. Crime and conflict  escalated under her watch  as corrupt regimes turn a blind eye, neglect citizens and waste resources.