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Tuesday, July 16, 2024
News and Views from the Global South
Commonwealth Secretary-General Calls for Concrete Finance Commitments for Small Island Developing States
Commonwealth Secretary-General Baroness Patricia Scotland is calling for concrete commitments to climate finance that will acknowledge the multi-dimensional vulnerability faced by the world’s small island developing states (SIDS).
Uniting for Climate Action: UN, World Bank and UNDRR Leaders Push for Climate Finance, Justice and Nature-Based Solutions for SIDS
As leaders of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) meet for the 4th International Conference on SIDS in Antigua this week, top United Nations and World Bank officials are calling for urgent action to help SIDS tackle their unique challenges and plan for the next decade.
Small Island Nations Demand Urgent Global Action at SIDS4 Conference
“This year has been the hottest in history in practically every corner of the globe, foretelling severe impacts on our ecosystems and starkly underscoring the urgency of our predicament. We are gathered here not merely to reiterate our challenges, but to demand and enact solutions,” declared Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Brown at the opening of the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States on May 27.
Countdown to Critical Conference for Small Island Developing States
Delegates from small island developing states (SIDS) worldwide are meeting in Antigua and Barbuda to strategize for the next decade.
Latin America and the Caribbean Hit with Record-Breaking Heat and Other Climate Effects in 2023
Every year for the last four years, a collaborative effort involving scientists and other experts has assessed the state of the climate in Latin America and the Caribbean. The findings have revealed increasingly alarming trends for the world’s second-most disaster-prone region.
Small Island States Fostering Effective Energy Transition To Achieve a Blue Economy
Small Island Developing States (SIDS), a distinct group of 39 states and 18 associate members, are making efforts to promote the blue economy as they possess enormous potential for renewable energy relying on the sea. Experts predict that switching to renewables will help SIDS countries decarbonize power generation as an appropriate option for islands to cut their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, fulfill Paris Agreement pledges and contribute to the global fight against climate change.
Poor Water Distribution Infrastructure Gives Jamaica a ‘Water Scarce’ Label
It will take billions of dollars and many years to fix a growing problem that has placed Jamaica into the unlikely bracket of being among the world's most water-scarce countries due to the unavailability of potable water.
Barbados Prime Minister Warns of Mass Migration Backlash Because of Climate Crisis
The Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley tells IPS her patience is running thin, as she challenges the world to tackle the climate crisis.
Renewables to Become the Norm for the Caribbean
Jamaica and other Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are embracing renewable energy as part of their plans to become decarbonised in the coming decades.
After the Rain: The Lasting Effects of Storms in the Caribbean
Sustainability is constitutive of the concept of development. Just as economist Amartya Sen has argued that there is no point in discussing the relationship between development and democracy, because democracy is constitutive of the concept of development, there is no point of trying to disentangle sustainability from the notion of development itself.
Q&A: Building Resilience through Waste Diversion and Reduction
Jua Kali is a social enterprise tackling waste management and helping to reduce reliance on St. Lucia’s only landfill, which will reach the end of its lifespan in 2023. The company, with its slogan ‘Trashing the Idea of Waste,’ hosts waste collection drives through pop up depots that encourage residents to bring in glass, plastic and tin cans in exchange for supermarket shopping points.
Anguilla’s Fishers Share their First-Hand Knowledge About Climate Change and its Impact
Fishers in Anguilla saw posted on Youtube this week a video they helped produce that depicts the impacts of climate change on their industry. Titled “Anguilla’s Fishing Dilemma”, the four-and-a-half minute video highlights some of the main challenges Anguilla’s 92 licensed fishers face in earning a living.
Q&A: Guyana’s Roadmap to Become a Green State
In 2008, the then president of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo, established within the Ministry of the Presidency the Office of Climate Change. Guyana became the first country in the region to do so. A year later, Jagdeo set out a vision to forge a new low carbon economy in the Caribbean nation.
Climate Change Also Affects Mental Health in Mexico
Minerva Montes lost her home on Holbox Island in 2005 when Hurricane Wilma hit the Yucatan Peninsula in southeastern Mexico. Rebuilding her home was quicker and easier than overcoming the psychological aftermath of the catastrophe.
Q&A: Caribbean Losing Momentum on Climate Change and Concerted Action is Needed
In 2015, the Caribbean was “the region that could” on the climate change scene. Countries rallied under the ‘1.5 to Stay Alive’ banner, in the face of an existential threat. The now former Sustainable Development Minister of Saint Lucia Dr. James Fletcher emerged as a climate change champion at the time. But now, three years on, the scientist is giving regional climate action a C- in an assessment.
Scholar Questions ‘Techie’ Approach to Dealing with Climate Change
Trinidad and Tobago unveiled its monitoring, reporting and verification system in mid-March with a flourish, with government authorities underscoring the launch of the Monitoring, Reporting, Verification as a milestone in that country’s efforts to reduce its emissions in line with its commitments under the 2016 Paris agreement.
Helping St. Vincent’s Fishers Maintain an Essential Industry in a Changing Climate
From an influx of sargassum in near-shore waters, to fish venturing further out to sea to find cooler, more oxygenated water, fishers in St. Vincent and the Grenadines are battling the vagaries of climate change. The country is doing what it can to respond. 
Q&A: Inventor from a Small Fishing Village in Saint Lucia Provides Hope for Water Woes
Karlis Noel spends his days in his lab in the small, picturesque community of Laborie in St. Lucia. The former fisherman’s story might sound like an overnight success, but his present accolades in the field of engineering are the result of years of hard work and an unceasing drive to make life easier for communities in the throes of a water crisis.
Environmental Funding For Guyana Must Cater for Mangroves Too
For several decades, Guyana has been using mangroves to protect its coasts against natural hazards, and the country believes its mangrove forests should be included in programmes like the REDD+ of United Nations, in order to access financing to continue their restoration and maintenance, as they complement miles of seawalls that help to prevent flooding.
Saving for a ‘Rainy Day’ Takes on New Meaning in Caribbean
In the tiny eastern Caribbean nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, proverbs relating to the weather are very common. Everyone knows that “Who has cocoa outside must look out for rain”, has nothing to do with the drying of the bean from which chocolate is made or the sudden downpours common in this tropical nation.
Q&A: Caught Up in the Opportunities of Climate Change and Less So With Adaptation
Caribbean countries have been signalling their willingness to dedicate time and resources to implement and sustain effective multi-hazard early warning systems.Next Page »
As the world moves to implement the Paris Climate Change Agreement, the Caribbean—one of the most vulnerable regions to rising sea levels—faces a host of challenges, including accessing funding for adaptation and mitigation, protecting key sectors like tourism and agriculture, building resilience to natural disasters, and moving to a low-carbon development path. Much of the world’s most interesting work in addressing climate change, adopting clean energy and coming up with plans to stem deforestation has its roots in the developing world, where climate change impacts are often felt first and strongest. IPS looks at the wide variety of local, national and regional initiatives in the Caribbean that offer creative solutions to these problems.
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Caribbean Climate Wire
