Climate change

The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released on February 28, 2022, concludes that nations are continuing to fall behind in their plans to protect cities, forests, farmlands, oceans and coastlines from the hazards that climate change has unleashed so far; such as record breaking droughts and rising sea levels.

The report, titled Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability was developed by a team of 270 researchers from 67 countries and included five scientists from the University of the West Indies. According to the report, if human-caused global warming is not limited to just a couple of tenths of a degree, an Earth already plagued by deadly heat, fires, floods, and drought will degrade in 127 ways, some of which are “potentially irreversible”.

The cumulative scientific evidence is unequivocal,” said Racquel Moses,UNFCCC Global Ambassador and CEO of Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator (CCSA). “This latest IPCC report is another eye opening reality check for world leaders and every citizen of planet Earth that we must move more purposefully with action and accountability to address climate change.

“The Caribbean region must continue to come together and fast track partnerships and collaborations to accelerate climate action plans. Areas within the blue economy, climate-smart agriculture and renewable energy for example all offer opportunities which the region can take right now to start moving towards economic prosperity, future resilience and sustainability.”

The region also needs to continue apace at building systemic resilience to the many consequences that are now unavoidable to the people of the Caribbean, while simultaneously strengthening strategies to reduce emissions as quickly as possible, and rapidly transition to renewable energy sources to ensure future energy security.

Mohammed Rafik M.S. Nagdee, Cluster Head at UNDP – Environment, Energy & Climate Change, Barbados & the Eastern Caribbean Coastal and Climate Change Scientist also commented on the report. “For us in the region we have to make climate change personal. It is long past the time for small steps and drawn out conversations. What we need is a movement where we no longer have to choose between wellbeing, survival and conservation, to a position where by our very design, sustainability and resilience become our very function.”

“This is as serious a sounding alarm as it gets for the world, and even more so for the region,” said Kiesha Farnum, Director of Public Sector Projects at CCSA. “We have seen what recent hurricanes have done to our Caribbean neighbours in Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica and Puerto Rico. The choice is simple, we must adapt now so that we do not pay the price with life and livelihoods later.”

Farnum continued, “the latest IPCC report is a clarion call for owners of climate-smart projects designed for the Caribbean to come forward and share their projects with organisations such as CCSA. We can help accelerate the development of these projects by sharing them with our global network of investors, donors and climate business experts who can assist by providing financial and/or technical support.” (PR)