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Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre at LAC Climate Week
Dr Elon Cadogan and Mr Carlos Fuller of the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre attended the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) Climate Week in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil from 19 to 23 August 2019.
On Monday, Regional and International Liaison Officer, Carlos Fuller introduced the Integrated Global Greenhouse Gas System (IG3IS) of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) at a side event on “Science-Based Greenhouse Gas Emission Estimates in Support of National and Sub-National Climate Change Mitigation”. This was followed by presentations on two pilot projects utilizing the system in Recifre, Brazil and Mexico City, Mexico. He then spoke on the need for enhanced Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) at a Regional Dialogue on NDCs.
On Wednesday, he was a panelist at the opening of the Climate Week and then moderated a panel discussion which included Ms Lisa Morris Julian, the Mayor of Arima, Trinidad and Tobago, on “Mitigation and Vulnerability Hotspots” as part of a session on “Pathways to a Low-Carbon and Resilient Future in Latin America and the Caribbean Urban Areas and Settlements”. He then delivered a presentation on adaptation on the coastal zone of Belize and facilitated a panel discussion which followed.
Dr Elon Cadogan, the National Project Coordinator for the GCF-funded “Water Sector Resilience Nexus for Sustainability in Barbados Project” delivered a presentation on the project at the Technical Expert Meeting – Mitigation (TEM-M) on “Circular Economy Solutions and Innovations in Water and Energy Management for the Agri-Food Chain”.
The Centre’s team utilized the opportunity to engage with CARICOM representatives attending the LAC Climate Week including officials from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago and other regional experts.
The 2020 Lac Climate Week will be held in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
GWP-C and CCCCC Partner with Caribbean Water Sector Stakeholders to Develop Green Climate Fund Projects
May 27th – 29th, 2019 | St. George’s, Grenada. The Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) in partnership with the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC), is convening a regional project development workshop at St. George’s University in Grenada from May 27th – 29th, 2019. The workshop is titled “An Approach to Develop a Regional Water Sector Programme for Building Resilience to Climate Change.”
The focus of the 3-day workshop, is to strengthen the capacity of Caribbean Water Utilities and Government Ministries with responsibility for Water Resources Management, in developing climate resilient water proposals, with the objective of preparing a Regional Water Sector Programme for the submission to the Green Climate Fund (GCF). More than twenty (20) representatives from ten (10) Caribbean countries will participate in the regional workshop. These countries include: Antigua and Barbuda, The Commonewealth of Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and The Bahamas.
The workshop will provide participants with knowledge on the GCF and funding opportunities, as well as introduce them to the GCF concept note and funding proposal template. Additionally, stakeholders will be able to identify priority activities and actions for the water sector and utilities in the Caribbean. This would feed into identifying next steps to further develop the Regional Programme for approval by the GCF.
The importance of the workshop cannot be overstated, as Caribbean Small Island Developing States are some of the most vulnerable islands to the impacts of Climate Change in the world, with water scarcity ranking as the most critical resource under threat. Addressing this existential threat, requires urgent action to mitigate its long-term impacts and accessing funding to do so is urgently needed.
GWP-C’s mission is to support Caribbean countries in the sustainable management of their water resources. While the CCCCC, as a regional entity accredited by the GCF, has the mandate to coordinate the Caribbean’s response to climate change. This collaboration between GWP-C and CCCCC, therefore presents a combination of knowledge and experience to foster building climate resilience in the Caribbean water sector. The ultimate objective being to make the Caribbean Water Secure.
For more information on the Regional Workshop please contact:
Gabrielle Lee Look
Communications Officer
Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C)
E-mail: gleelook@gwp-caribbean.org
Website: http://www.gwp-caribbean.org
CARICOM-UN Will Raise Funds to Help Rebuild Hurricane-Hit Caribbean Nations
Limited resources and lack of funding, many hurricane-torn regions in the Caribbean are finding it hard to recoup
With limited resources and lack of funding, many hurricane-torn regions in the Caribbean are finding it hard to recoup.
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) along with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will host a conference to assist the hurricane-torn Caribbean nations to help them become more “resilient” in future climate-related calamities.
The conference to be held in New York on Nov. 22 will raise funds to provide “technical and financial assistance to meet that goal,” Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community, CARICOM, said during a press conference.
With limited resources and lack of funding, many hurricane-torn regions in the Caribbean are finding it hard to recoup.
“The currents of successive category 5 hurricanes signals a dangerous change in the intensity and frequency of climate change-related storms, heralds the advent of the new normal,” LaRocque said.
“All these disasters” offer an opportunity for the affected countries to “become the first climate change resilient countries in the world,” the CARICOM general secretary added.
Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, also urged for concessionary funding needed for the hurricane-hit regions. Using “artificial impediments” such as “per capita income” are “an act of aggression against small island developing states,” Browne said.
Browne called out the hypocrisy of naming Caribbean countries as “wealthy” when a vast majority of the countries in the region are “the poorest in the world, maybe second only to Africa,” he said.
Further adding, in order to adapt and mitigate the effects of climate change, the countries responsible for climate change should pay the price.
“The money should come from the heavy polluters, those who are contributing to the warming of the planet,” and those who continue to use fossil fuels, he further added.
A Caribbean peace conference held in Barbados, during the first week of October also discussed the perils of climate change and how developing nations are paying a heavy price for the capitalistic ventures of nearby developed nations which “increases the risk of natural disasters that can wipe out Caribbean economies by wreaking havoc on infrastructure and by causing significant loss of life.”
Attended by the representatives of Barbados, Cuba, Guyana, Jamaica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela and the U.S. Peace Council, the conference members noted that how they are being subjected ” to private sector dominance and the reversal of the social gains in health, education, public housing and transportation, adversely impacting the quality of life of the Caribbean working people.”
Credit: Carib Flame
CCCCC and USAID continue Climate Change Resilience Training
Credit: Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre. Not for use without written permission.
Belmopan, Belize June 26, 2017: The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Government of St Lucia are hosting a workshop on the Use of Climate Change Impact Tools and Models for Decision Making, Planning and Implementation on the island between June 19 and 30.
The Workshop is being held at the Bay Gardens Inn in Rodney Bay, Gros Islet, St. Lucia and is organised under the USAID-funded Climate Change Adaptation Program (USAID CCAP). The program aims to build resilience in the development initiatives of 10 countries in the Caribbean as they tackle climate change induced challenges which are already being experienced.
Under the project the Caribbean Assessment Regional DROught (CARiDRO) tool; the Weather Generator, the Tropical Storm Model and accompanying web portal and data sets have been developed and are being introduced to help countries to enhance their development activities to reduce the risks to natural assets and populations, due to climate change.
The tools are open source online resources to provide locally relevant and unbiased climate change information that is specific to the Caribbean and relevant to the region’s development. The integration of the tools into national policy agendas across the region is being spearheaded through regional and country workshops which are crucial to ensuring effective decision-making and improving climate knowledge and action.
The beneficiary countries are Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.
The USAID CCAP project was designed to build on both USAID’s Eastern and Southern Caribbean Regional Development Cooperative Strategy, which addresses development challenges in the Eastern and Southern Caribbean, and the CCCCC’s Regional Framework for Achieving Development Resilient to a Changing Climate and its associated Implementation Plan that were unanimously endorsed by Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads.
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TOOLS
Regional Climate Models and Caribbean Assessment of Regional Drought (CARiDRO)
The Caribbean Assessment Regional DROught (CARiDRO) was designed to facilitate drought assessment in the context of the Caribbean and Central America. It is a flexible system that should accommodate the requirements of different users. The online tool is composed of two main sections: a descriptive one where the user can find information on how to use the tool as well as terms and concepts that are useful. The other section is where the user can fill out a form with different fields in order to produce results accordingly. CARiDRO allows the user to access and to process different observed and model datasets for the Caribbean Region to produce results based on two Drought Indexes, the Standardized Precipitation Index (McKee,1993) and the Standardized Precipitation-Evaporation Index (Serrano et al, 2010).
Weather generator
The Weather Generator provides daily weather time series for use in impact assessments and impact models. It generates weather data for the future that can be used across sectors (e.g., water, agriculture, health) in the same way as historic weather series. The main benefit and utility of the WG is that it provides information for a single point location – directly comparable to what is observed at weather stations.
Tropical storm model
A simple advection model premised on past memorable and notable storms generating grids for each 15-minute period in the storm model. The variables include precipitation rate and wind speed.
Portal and observed data
This web portal provides information and datasets concerning:
- The observed climate of the present day
- Regional Climate Model projection of the future climate
- Future scenarios of weather downscaled from the Regional Climate Model projections
- Scenarios of weather derived from hypothetical tropical cyclone events
This web portal is intended for use by regional and national institutions, consultants and scientists concerned with the climate and impacts of future climate change in the Caribbean region. Accordingly, a considerable degree of contextual knowledge of climate change and its impacts, and analytical expertise is assumed. Browse the portal: http://www.cariwig.org/ncl_portal/#info
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The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre coordinates the region’s response to climate change. Officially opened in August 2005, the Centre is the key node for information on climate change issues and the region’s response to managing and adapting to climate change. We maintain the Caribbean’s most extensive repository of information and data on climate change specific to the region, which in part enables us to provide climate change-related policy advice and guidelines to CARICOM member states through the CARICOM Secretariat. In this role, the Centre is recognized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the United Nations Environment Programme, and other international agencies as the focal point for climate change issues in the Caribbean. The Centre is also a United Nations Institute for Training and Research recognised Centre of Excellence, one of an elite few. Learn more about how we’re working to make the Caribbean more climate resilient by perusing The Implementation Plan.
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CCORAL Training Workshop for Antigua and Barbuda
Caribbean Climate Online Risk and Adaptation TooL (CCORAL) Infographic
PRESS RELEASE – Belmopan, Belize; May 5, 2017 – The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development/ Eastern and Southern Caribbean (USAID/ESC) under the USAID Climate Change Adaptation Program (USAID CCAP) are hosting a Caribbean Climate Online Risk and Adaptation Tool (CCORAL) Training Workshop in Antigua and Barbuda on May 8th – 12th at the Department of Environment Conference Room.
CCORAL, is an online climate risk management tool that guides developers to include best-practises, strategies and systems into development planning that will ensure that across the region, there is a comprehensive approach to climate change risk assessment and adaptation for building climate resiliency in decision-making. It provides users a platform for identifying appropriate responses to the impacts of short and long term climate conditions by applying a risk management approach to development planning.
The training workshop is targeting key government, private sector and non-governmental organisations, agencies/institutions as part of a national capacity-building exercise aimed at inculcating a risk management ethos in decision-making. Through use of this online application tool, participants will evaluate national developmental issues and present their findings to senior policy and decision makers on completion of these evaluation exercises.
The USAID CCAP being implemented by the CCCCC commits US$25.6 million over four (4) years to boost climate resilient development and reduce climate change induced risks to human and natural assets in ten (10) countries. The beneficiary countries are Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Suriname.
Peruse the CCORAL Fact Sheet and the CCORAL Brochure.
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The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre coordinates the region’s response to climate change. Officially opened in August 2005, the Centre is the key node for information on climate change issues and the region’s response to managing and adapting to climate change. We maintain the Caribbean’s most extensive repository of information and data on climate change specific to the region, which in part enables us to provide climate change-related policy advice and guidelines to CARICOM member states through the CARICOM Secretariat. In this role, the Centre is recognized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the United Nations Environment Programme, and other international agencies as the focal point for climate change issues in the Caribbean. The Centre is also a United Nations Institute for Training and Research recognised Centre of Excellence, one of an elite few. Learn more about how we’re working to make the Caribbean more climate resilient by perusing The Implementation Plan.
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CRFM and fisheries powerhouse, Norway, launch fact-finding mission
 From left to right: Milton Haughton, CRFM Executive Director; Dr. Åge Høines, Senior Scientist, Institute of Marine Research, Norway; Dr. Johán Williams, Special Director, Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs; and Hon. Dr. Omar Figueroa, Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry, the Environment and Sustainable Development and Climate Change, Belize |
The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) and the Government of Norway have launched a two-week mission to explore the development of a regional technical assistance project to be funded by Norway. The project would support the region’s fisheries and aquaculture sector by strengthening evidence-based management.
Dr. Åge Høines, Senior Scientist, Institute of Marine Research, Norway; and Dr. Johán Williams, Specialist Director, Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs, began meeting on Monday, January 16, with CRFM Executive Director Milton Haughton at the CRFM Secretariat in Belize City, after which the team embarked in a two-week dialogue with 7 CRFM Members States, beginning with senior government officials in Belize.
This regional fact-finding mission is being undertaken within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Cooperation between the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Governments of the Nordic Countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, signed by the parties on 20 September 2016 in New York, USA. That MoU identified fisheries as one of the priority areas of cooperation, along with environment, climate change, renewable energy, gender equality, tourism, education, child protection and welfare, and information technology.
“Norway is a powerhouse in fisheries, globally,” Haughton said. “They have excellent systems for research, data collection, resource management, and making decisions based on science; and we need to move more in that direction—strengthening our systems to be able to make better decisions regarding fisheries conservation and management, as well as fisheries development on the basis of good scientific data and information.”
Haughton added that: “We are interested in drawing on the Norwegian knowledge, expertise and technology in various aspects of fisheries and aquaculture, in building our own capacities in CARICOM in fisheries research, statistics, resource management, aquaculture (particularly mariculture), fish processing, value addition, marketing and international trade.”
Principally, the engagement between Norway and the CRFM Member States will focus on building human resource capacity, institutional capacity, and the accuracy and volume of fisheries data and information, with an emphasis on pursuing the ecosystems approach to fisheries development and management.
While in Belize, Høines and Williams had a chance to dialogue with H.E. Daniel Guiterrez, Belize’s Ambassador to CARICOM; Hon. Dr. Omar Figueroa, Belize’s Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry, the Environment and Sustainable Development and Climate Change, as well as Fisheries Administrator Beverly Wade.
After leaving Belize on Tuesday, the team, joined by CRFM Executive Director Milton Haughton, travels to Haiti for similar dialogue, as they consult with stakeholders in the field to better define their interests. Next, the team will travel to Barbados, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and The Bahamas. While in Guyana, they will meet both with fisheries officials there and officials of the CARICOM Secretariat. The technical mission concludes near the end of January.
Haughton noted that for more than 60 years, Norway has been supporting fisheries research surveys in developing countries using the marine research vessel, Dr. Fridtjof Nansen, outfitted with high-level modern technology in marine resource survey. Those vessels have been dispatched in Africa and other parts of the developing world. It is the CRFM’s hope that during the latter half of the proposed project, for the period 2019-2020, the research vessel would be deployed in the Caribbean to conduct surveys to broaden the region’s understanding of the state of its fisheries resources and marine environment. The CRFM also intends to collaborate in this endeavor with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/ Western Central Atlantic Fisheries Commission, which is already committed to assisting the region in buildings its fisheries knowledge base.
Credit: The Bahamas Weekly
Trinidad and Tobago civil society ready to tackle climate change in 2017
Representatives from the five beneficiary CSOs, Conservation International and CANARI
Five civil society organisations (CSOs) in Trinidad and Tobago are starting 2017 ready to tackle climate change through raising awareness, advocating for strong policies and action, and implementing practical adaptation projects guided by assessments of what are the key vulnerabilities and priorities for resilience building.
The five CSOs – Caribbean Youth Environment Network Trinidad and Tobago Chapter (CYENTT), Environmental Research Institute Charlotteville (ERIC), Environment Tobago, Fondes Amandes Community Reforestation Project (FACRP), and Turtle Village Trust (TVT) – have been participating in the “Climate ACTT: Action by Civil society in Trinidad and Tobago to build resilience to climate change” project, which aimed to build the capacity of five CSOs in Trinidad and Tobago to deliver programmes/projects related to climate change adaptation and resilience.
Over the last 16 months, the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) implemented and managed this project in collaboration with Conservation International and with support from BHP Billiton Trinidad and Tobago.
The Climate ACTT project wrapped up in December 2016, with a final evaluation workshop to assess results of the project, facilitate sharing of knowledge and experiences among the beneficiary CSOs and catalyse partnerships and new initiatives for climate change adaptation and resilience in Trinidad and Tobago.
Overall the Climate ACTT project was found to be a resounding success at enhancing the capacity of the five CSOs to undertake climate adaptation work.
One participant in the final evaluation workshop acknowledged “the sense of something starting as opposed to something ending”.
“This was the seed sown for the growth of the big tree,” added another participant.
All five CSOs felt energised and ready to expand their work on climate change to help to address the impacts that are already being felt in communities throughout Trinidad and Tobago.
Each CSO had participated in training and implemented a practical adaptation project that laid a foundation for exciting avenues of work moving forward. A few highlights were:
- Caribbean Youth Environment Network Trinidad and Tobago Chapter (CYEN-TT) will build the capacity of youth so that they are aware of the impacts of climate change and have a stronger voice to call for urgent action.
- Environmental Research Institute Charlotteville (ERIC) will educate coastal residents in north-east Tobago about the impacts of climate change on their communities and what needs to be done to adapt.
- Environment Tobago (ET) will conduct vulnerability assessments of coastal areas in south-east Tobago and collaborate with government, private sector and residents to identify what are the priority actions needed to build resilience to the impacts of climate change on these areas.
- Fondes Amandes Reforestation Project (FACRP) will partner with universities to expand its research on what tree species are resilient to climate change and therefore best suited for ongoing reforestation in the western Northern Range in areas destroyed by annual fires.
- Turtle Village Trust (TVT) will educate coastal communities in north-east Trinidad and Tobago about the impacts of climate change on sea turtles and coastal and marine ecosystems and what needs to be done to adapt.
At the evaluation workshop, the CSOs also engaged with invited partners from government, international agencies and private sector donors for a highly interactive round of group presentations and “speed dating” to discuss potential future areas of collaboration. Responses from the invited partners included “smitten” and “very proud”, and before leaving they urged the participating CSOs to be proactive in initiating their “second dates” to discuss specific opportunities for collaboration on climate adaptation initiatives moving forward.
Credit: Caribbean News Now!
Eastern and Southern Caribbean Countries to benefit from a new US$25.6 million Climate Change Adaptation Program
PRESS RELEASE – Belmopan, Belize; November 22, 2016 – The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) and the United States Agency for International Development for the Eastern and Southern Caribbean (USAID)/ESC launched the Climate Change Adaptation Program (CCAP) today, November 22, 2016, at the CCCCC’s headquarters in Belmopan, Belize. The CCAP, which will be implemented by the CCCCC, commits US$25.6 million over four (4) years to boost climate resilient development and reduce climate change induced risks to human and natural assets in ten (10) countries. The beneficiary countries are Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Suriname.
USAID’s Chief of Mission, Christopher Cushing, the wide array of stakeholders in attendance at the program launch stated that, “this partnership seeks to reduce the risks to human and natural assets resulting from climate variability in the Eastern and Southern Caribbean. We will work together with the 5Cs to create an integrated system to sustainably adapt to climate change in the ECS.
The climate resilient development initiative contributes to a coherent regional effort to tackle climate change induced challenges in the Caribbean. It builds upon both USAID’s Eastern and Southern Caribbean Regional Development Cooperative Strategy, which is addressing development challenges in the Eastern and Southern Caribbean, and the CCCCC’s Regional Framework for Achieving Development Resilient to a Changing Climate and its associated Implementation Plan that were unanimously endorsed by Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads.
“Our helping communities and government manage their water sources or sometimes, the lack thereof, is encouraging the private sector and others to adopt renewable energy approaches while working with governments so they can develop the right frameworks and policies to encourage the uptake of renewable,” states Cushing.
The Executive Director of the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre, Dr. Kenrick Leslie, added that the Program shows the value of partnership for capacity building and realising tangible outcomes.
He noted that “donor countries stand with us side by side because they recognized the need for an institution that would help lead the way to address the issues of climate change and sea level rise. While CCAP is a program to help the Eastern and Southern Caribbean countries, it is helping the Centre to have the skills that will help us to propel the needs of our region in developing programmes to meet our obligations.”
Peruse the Climate Change Adaptation Program’s Project Brief
See photos from the signing ceremony here.
CDB engages regional water and waste management specialists in Trinidad
The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) recently partnered with the Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA), to host the largest gathering of water and waste-management specialists from across the Caribbean at the CWWA 2016 Conference and Exhibition.
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“Clean water is one of the key pillars of human development and its importance cannot be overstated. The use and management of water impacts all of today’s leading global challenges, including: energy generation and usage; food security; natural disaster management; and the management of the environment. CDB therefore, has a vested interest in the well-being of the water and sanitation sector because it is key to us achieving our development mandate,” said L. O’Reilly Lewis, portfolio manager, CDB during the opening ceremony for the CWWA Conference.
The bank sponsored a high level forum (HLF) for water ministers in the Caribbean, which included presentations from CDB representatives, and also engaged with conference attendees at its booth in the exhibition hall.
The high level forum is a key mechanism for water-sector-related policy dialogue, bringing together government ministers and senior officials from across the Caribbean, as well as development partners and key stakeholders.
“CDB was instrumental in the establishment of HLF, playing an integral role in the planning and financing of the first forum in 2005 in Barbados… There is a commonality of challenges facing Caribbean countries and recognition of the fact that the sharing of experiences, expertise and knowledge — including best practices — is key in promoting more strategic approaches at the regional and national levels,” said Daniel Best, director of projects at the CDB.
Topics covered included economic drivers that must be considered in investments in the water and wastewater sector in the Caribbean, promoting the regional water agenda linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (Goal 6) and SAMOA in the context of climate change and disaster reduction and case studies, focusing on drought conditions in Jamaica and the impact of Tropical Storm Erika on the water sector in Dominica. CDB also participated in a panel discussion on how countries can access concessional funding, specifically through the Adaptation Fund, and the Green Climate Fund, which recently accredited the bank as a partner institution.
“This important policy dialogue on climate financing for the water sector is central to the bank’s strategy…This forum provides the bank with a timely opportunity to build awareness of its role as an accredited body to facilitate access to concessional financing from the Adaptation Fund, and the Green Climate Fund, for much needed water infrastructure investments in the Caribbean,” said Best.
The CWWA conference took place from October 25-27, in Trinidad and Tobago. This is the 25th year that the conference is being held.
Credit: Caribbean News Now!
Japan and UNDP launch climate change project in eight Caribbean countries
Members of the J-CCCP Project Board following the project launch
The government of Japan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched the US$15 million Japan-Caribbean climate change partnership (J-CCCP) on Thursday, in line with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius and to drive efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
The launch follows a two-day meeting with more than 40 representatives from eight Caribbean countries, including government officials, technical advisors, NGO and UN partners to set out a roadmap to mitigate and adapt to climate change, in line with countries’ long-term strategies.
The new initiative will help put in practice Caribbean countries’ actions and policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change, such as nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs) and national adaptation plans (NAPs). It will also boost access to sustainable energy and help reduce fossil fuel imports and dependence, setting the region on a low-emission development path, while addressing critical balance of payments constraints.
“The government of Japan is pleased to partner with UNDP. It is envisaged that the project will also contribute to building a platform for information sharing in developing and implementing climate change policies and promoting the transfer of adaptation and mitigation technologies. Japan expects, through pilot projects and information sharing, the project will enable the Caribbean countries to enhance their capacity to cope with climate change and natural disasters,” said Masatoshi Sato, minister-counsellor and deputy head of mission at the embassy of Japan in Trinidad and Tobago, stressing that the partnership will also promote South-South and North-South cooperation, including study tours to Japan for government officials and technical advisors.
Participating countries include Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname, benefitting an estimated 200,000 women and men in 50 communities.
“This partnership comes at a critical time in our nation’s sustainable development programme,” said Gloria Joseph, permanent secretary in the ministry of planning, economic development and investment in Dominica. “Dominica has experienced firsthand the devastating and crippling effect that climate change can have on a nation’s people, their livelihoods and economy, risking losing up to 90 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) due to a tropical storm or hurricane. Dominica stands ready and welcomes the opportunity to benefit from early response warning systems, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction measures as it seeks to restore and ‘build back better’.”
Climate change is recognised as one of the most serious challenges to the Caribbean. With the likelihood that climate change will exacerbate the frequency and intensity of the yearly hurricane season, comprehensive measures are needed to protect at-risk communities. Boosting resilience is crucial for the region’s development and is a clear part of UNDP’s global strategic plan of programme priorities.
Negative impacts on land, water resources and biodiversity associated with climate change have also been predicted with the potential to affect shoreline stability, the health of coastal and marine ecosystems and private property, as well as ecosystem services. Increasing coastal erosion and severe coral reef bleaching events are already evident in some locations.
“UNDP has been championing the cause of climate change in the Caribbean for many years and we are pleased to partner with the Government of Japan toward the implementation of climate change projects in eight Caribbean countries,” said Rebeca Arias, regional hub director for UNDP’s Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean. “In light of the COP21 agreement, these projects are timely in assisting countries to respond more effectively to the impacts of climate change and to increase their resilience through actions today to make them stronger for tomorrow.”
Credit: Caribbean News Now
