Sustainability or Nothing

Premier Mark Brantley returned to the Global Indian Network this week, greeting the audience warmly before laying out a stark message: for Nevis, sustainability is not a choice, it is survival.

He spoke at length about the island’s new sustainable economic free zone, stressing that developers are no longer being waved through with vague promises. Instead, they must meet strict legal requirements—70% renewable energy, climate-proof infrastructure, credible plans for healthcare, waste management and heritage protection. Those unwilling to comply will not be approved.

Pressed on enforcement, Brantley was candid about the limits of a small state. With scarce expertise, Nevis will often have to bring in outside specialists. But he insisted the real safeguard is political will: “Absent sustainability, we will simply disappear.” It was a sobering reminder that for Nevis, unlike larger nations, climate policy is not theoretical.

He also acknowledged resistance at home, citing protests over the ban on single-use plastics. Yet, he argued, short-term inconvenience is a small price for long-term survival. Recycling schemes led by schoolchildren, he noted, are already changing habits.

On accusations of greenwashing, Brantley pointed to the island’s size. At just 36 square miles, failures cannot be hidden. Every misstep is visible, every impact felt.

The conversation revealed a leader keen to project resolve but also aware of the fragility of his position. His appeal was less about slogans than about the hard realities of governing a place too small to ignore the consequences of inaction.