St. John’s Antigua –  Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has broken ranks with the loudest calls coming out of climate activism, telling world leaders that the battle against climate change should target emissions rather than declaring the fossil fuel industry itself the enemy.

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday, Mottley argued that a pragmatic approach could yield faster results and buy critical time for vulnerable nations already bearing the brunt of global warming.

“The fossil fuel industry is not the enemy. It is the emissions,” she said. “We should consider working towards a globally legal binding  framework on methane, which could contribute to reversing global temperatures, I’m told by the scientists, by as much as half a degree while purchasing time for the fossil fuel industry to scale up to a commercial level, the use of decarbonizing technology. ”

Her remarks come as activists worldwide press governments to commit to a rapid and total phase-out of coal, oil, and gas, accusing producers of obstructing climate action. Campaigners insist that limiting warming to 1.5°C requires leaving most known fossil fuel reserves in the ground.

But Mottley signaled that the political pathway may be more complex. She stressed that a workable solution must involve finance and fairness, especially for countries that had little role in creating the crisis.

“When we should be conducting an audit of the achieved targets and accomplished deliverables, we continue for the most part to receive IOUs and statements of deferred intent” Mottley said, noting that some countries have even revived high-polluting energy systems while pouring billions into military buildups “at the expense of financing our way to sustainability and a livable planet.”

The Barbadian leader also highlighted the urgent need for climate financing. She pointed to the Baku to Belém roadmap, which requires $1.3 trillion annually by 2035, and warned against repeating the failures of the Loss and Damage Fund, which remains severely underfunded despite its historic establishment.