James Fletcher was the Minister for the Public Service, Information, Broadcasting, Sustainable Development, Energy, Science and Technology in Saint Lucia from 2011 to 2016. Under his leadership, the Caribbean’s ‘1.5 to Stay Alive’ climate change civil society campaign was developed. In addition to leading the Caribbean’s delegation to the COP21 negotiations on the Paris Agreement, he was also a member of a small group of ministers chosen by the COP President to help achieve consensus on the various elements of the Paris Agreement. In recognition of his work at COP21, James Fletcher was highlighted in ‘Profiles of Paris’ (www.profilesofparis.com) as one of the people who played an important role in creating the historic Paris Agreement.

During his tenure as a minister, James Fletcher led an aggressive modernization of the energy sector with new investments in renewable energy, the establishment of a new muti-sector utility regulator, and the enactment of new energy legislation. He commissioned modern information technology centers in several under-served communities around the island and he initiated the program for free island-wide Wi-Fi (GI-Net). The Ministry of the Public Service, under his guidance, developed a 311-call canter to provide the public with quicker and easier access to the public service, and established an Employee Assistance Programme to provide free, confidential counselling for public officers.

James Fletcher is the author of the book ‘Governing in a Small Caribbean Island State’. He authored the chapter ‘The Fight for Small Island Developing States’ in the Cambridge University Press publication ‘Negotiating the Paris Agreement: The Insider Stories’, and he edited and produced ‘Where is the Justice? An Anthology of Caribbean Youth Perspectives on the Climate Crisis’. He also wrote the ‘Regional Strategic Action Plan for Governance and Building Climate Resilience in the Water Sector in the Caribbean’. In 2019, James Fletcher was selected by the United Kingdom’s Chevening Scholarship Program as one of 35 Global Changemakers (www.35.chevening.org). James Fletcher currently manages his own consulting company, SOLORICON. In 2020, he launched The Caribbean Climate Justice Project, which is an initiative aimed at increasing civil society awareness of the impacts of climate change and ensuring that there are appropriate responses at the national, regional, and international levels to issues of climate justice and just transitions.

James Fletcher is currently the Chairman of the Executive Board of the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE).

James Fletcher holds a B.Sc. in Biochemistry (Hon.) from the University of Ottawa, and a Ph.D. in Crop Physiology from the University of Cambridge.Website: www.soloricon.com; www.caribbeanclimatejustice.orgLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jimmyfletcherTwitter/X: @jimmyfletcher25; @soloriconThreads: jimmylfletcher