Climate change experts from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) are meeting in Belize at the Belize Biltmore Plaza between Monday and Tuesday, July 8 and 9, 2019 to review the draft Special Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate.

The workshop is being organised by the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) in association with Climate Analytics and is being implemented through the IMPACT project which is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.

The objective of the workshop is to prepare CARICOM officials for the IPCC Plenary Meeting in September 2019 which will adopt the Summary for Policy Makers and the underlying report. Chapters in the report addressing sea level rise and the implications for low lying coastal communities and marine ecosystems will be especially important for the Caribbean. The report will provide inputs to the next round of climate change negotiations at COP 25 in Santiago de Chile in December 2019.

The IPCC is the intergovernmental body of the United Nations charged with providing objective scientific information on climate change, its impacts and possible response actions. It produces an authoritative assessment on climate change every seven years in addition to special reports. Its last Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 Degrees Celsius produced last year is now the principal scientific document influencing the international response to climate change.