Approximately £22 million would be invested in the Caribbean from 2011 to 2015 to address various climate change issues.
This was revealed by the British High Commissioner to Barbados, Paul Brummell, who said that this would come from the £75 million development programme budget that the UK has for the Caribbean in connection with climate change and risk reduction.
Speaking at the launch of the Partnership for Resilience Climate Change Film Series at the Hilton Hotel recently, he said that these interventions which must be “practical, tangible, sectoral and community-based” would include areas like “the Implementation Plan for the Caribbean’s vision of Climate Resilient Development, where amongst other things, we will be replicating several successful regional adaptation pilots and improving fisheries and marine protected areas in 15 locations; supporting 160 particularly vulnerable communities to help them cope better with the risks of climate change; providing affordable hazard insurance to protect incomes of 18 000 of the poorest and 50 000 small farm workers when disasters do strike; support for better national risk reduction including safer buildings, improved water management and supplies and early warning systems and innovation in renewable energy and energy efficiency,” stated Brummell.
In addition, financial support and contributions would also be made to such areas as the Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience, the Climate Development Knowledge Network, the Global Environmental Facility and initiatives by the European Union (EU).
There is also the film series produced by CaribSave which showcases the climate change risks that the various islands in the region face as well as the different solutions that these islands are embarking on to address these issues.
The British High Commissioner reiterated the vision of Caribbean leaders for their respective countries to move towards a low-carbon, climate change resilient economy as soon as possible and stated that failure to live up to this vision could have devastating effects on small island developing states (SIDS) like theirs.
“We know that impacts are likely to be considerable – higher temperatures, reduced rainfall and stronger hurricane activity. The World Bank has listed small island developing states as the most at risk from sea level rise and other studies have already shown that inaction of failing to adapt could cost an average of five percent of the GDP across the region by 2025 – more in some countries and worsening with time. The time for action is now.”
[Many thank to Rod Fusco for bringing this item to our attention.]
For original article, see http://www.barbadosadvocate.com/newsitem.asp?more=local&NewsID=23153
Photo from http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2011/01/island-scale-study-reveals-climate.html
Repeating Islands 