A. Information for decision-making

  1. Information Clearing House: The Information Clearing House is a proactive, information-exchange facility which aids and supports stakeholders in accessing and sharing information. The Centre has available climate change information from global and regional sources and ensures that the information is available to key national and regional organizations, agencies or individuals.
  2. Climate Modelling: The Centre, in cooperation with international partners such as the Hadley Centre of the United Kingdom, the Cuban Institute of Meteorology and the Climate Studies Group of the University of the West Indies in Jamaica and Barbados including the Japanese Meteorological Agency is downscaling Global Climate Models to produce regional outputs that are specific and useful to the Caribbean. Scientists and other experts will be able to use the data and information from the regional modelling to plan and advise governments on adaptation to climate change.
  3. Environmental Scan: The Centre has access to the necessary information and expertise to identify climate-related threats and would be an integral part of any regional early-warning system. At the same time, the Centre provides assistance to its stakeholders including regional governments, the private sector, financial institutions and voluntary organizations to develop and implement adaptation strategies based on scenarios developed by the Centre.
  4. Lidar surveys: The Centre’s is in the process of developing an Advanced Airborne Research Lidar system which is expected to provide unique capabilities to conduct surveys on:
    • nearshore bathymetry and topography,
    • coral reefs,
    • benthic habitats
    • coastal vegetation, and
    • sandy beaches

Operating in the blue-green portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, the Centre’s lidar system is specifically designed to measure submerged topography and adjacent coastal land elevations seamlessly in a single scan of transmitted laser pulses.

B. Project Development and Support

  1. Accredited Regional Implementing Entity: The CCCCC is an Accredited Regional Implementing Entity (RIE) to the UNFCCC Green Climate Fund (GCF). As an RIE the Centre can receive direct financial transfers from the Fund in order to carry out adaptation and mitigation projects and programmes. Projects to be funded can range from a minimum of US$10 million to a maximum of US$50 million per project.

The Centre has the capacity to:

  • Support national governments or institutions in the formulation of projects for submission to the Fund, or
  • Act as the Implementing Entity for projects on behalf of national governments or institutions
  1. Project Development: Since 2006 the Centre has functioned as a project executing agency for development partners and National Governments

C. Training

The Centre develops and conducts appropriate training courses for different organizations and levels of management on climate change related issues. These include technical areas like the use of climate models, capacity building in the assessment and monitoring of climate impacts, use of tools developed by the Centre e.g. the Caribbean Climate Online Risk and Adaptation tool (CCORAL), proposal writing and negotiations.

D. Consultancy services

There are many projects now underway or being planned in, and for, the Caribbean. The Centre can conceptualise, plan, develop, implement, monitor and evaluate projects and programmes in areas related to climate change (e.g. biodiversity, alternate energy, appropriate technology transfer).

E. Joint venture services

The Centre provides collaborated joint venture research and development in renewable energy projects both with the public and private sectors.