At the request of CARICOM Heads of State participating in the First Congress for the Environmental Charter and Climatic Change, held at Ávila Mountain, Caracas, 11-13 October, 2007, the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre has prepared a Regional Framework for Achieving Development Resilient to Climate Change.

The Regional Framework was approved in July 2009 by the CARICOM Heads of Government. It defines CARICOM’s strategic approach for coping with Climate Change and is guided by five strategic elements and some twenty goals. The Strategic Elements and Goals are to be used as guides for enhancing resilience to the impacts of Climate Change in the social, economic and environmental systems in the CARICOM Member States.

The Framework provides a roadmap for action by member states and regional organisations during the period 2009-2015, while building on the groundwork laid by the CCCCC and its precursor programmes and projects in Climate Change adaptation. Additionally it also builds upon the extensive work undertaken under the CPACC, ACCC and MACC projects and by other regional organisations, NGOs and academic institutions in recent years assessing the impacts of a changing climate.

The Implementation Plan (IP) for the Framework was subsequently developed by the Centre and approved in March 2012 by the Heads of Government.