June 18, 2021
(CCCCC Press Release 2021/012)
(City of Belmopan, Belize) In a swift move to show its continued commitment and dedication to its neighbours, USAID kicked off an inaugural climate change symposium for the Southern and Eastern Caribbean on Wednesday, June 16. The virtual opening ceremony was attended by several high-level guests and speakers from USAID, CARICOM, regional institutions, the diplomatic corps and the media.
Delivering Opening remarks, Ms Barbara Feinstein, Acting Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator within USAID’s Bureau for Latin America, and the Caribbean (LAC), began by reiterating the priority of climate change to the current US government. Noting the similar risks that the Caribbean and the USA share as neighbours from climate induced disasters, and through a long history of collaboration to address such challenges, Feinstein observed “we are not only neighbours, but partners and allies, and this symposium is further proof of that.” She reassured the Caribbean that the “US remains committed to working side by side to implement climate solutions on the ground”.
During his remarks, Dr Colin Young, Executive Director of the CCCCC expressed his appreciation to USAID, for its continued relationship with the Caribbean. Noting the financing gap for climate change, which according to him is “large and widening”, Dr Young implored, “we also expect strong US leadership in significantly scaling up of finance to meet the USD 100 billion/year pledge that will allow developing countries to respond and adapt to climate change.” He highlighted the Region’s current vulnerability to the impacts of climate change and stressed that the Region’s “very survival is at stake should the world fail to limit global temperature of 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial levels”.
Also speaking at the Ceremony was CARICOM’s Secretary General, Ambassador Irwin La Roque, who pointed to the fact that the Caribbean “leads by example, despite its low levels of greenhouse gas emissions”. At the same time, he highlighted the fact that the Region has benefited from a number of successful partnerships including that of the CCCCC and the USAID during the implementation of the USAID Climate Change Adaptation Program, which he described as “pivotal to enhancing the data capture architecture network of the Eastern and Southern Caribbean”. “This acquisition alone of the region’s first owned LiDAR instrument was unprecedented”, he continued, “and opens avenues for enhancing access to seascape and topographic data at a cost much lower than previously possible.”
Continuing his praise of the USAID-CCAP Project in the Caribbean, Ambasador La Roque said further that the capacity support provided to the CCCCC in the area of project development through this project is responsible for the unprecedented levels of GCF funding that have “greatly exceeded expectations”.
With widespread flooding currently in Guyana, US Ambassador to Guyana Sarah-Ann Lynch found it fitting to start her address by pointing to the rollercoaster challenges of climate change that are ever present in CARICOM states. Citing an unbroken relationship over several decades between USAID and the Caribbean, Ambassador Lynch emphasized that the US government had provided “significant resources for strengthening the region’s approaches to adapting to and mitigating climate change”, assuring that “this would continue in earnest in the years to come.” She declared, that the proceedings from the symposium along with the needs and inputs from lead regional agencies, will be used to inform the development of a new USAID climate change strategy, stressing that “our efforts over the coming years will support your vision for a climate resilient Caribbean”.
The event concluded with the live signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre, the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, and USAID. According to USAID ESC, the MOU reaffirms the long-standing relationship between the organisations and highlights the urgent need for climate action within the Caribbean.
The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre coordinates the region’s response to climate change. Officially opened in August 2005, the Centre is the key node for information on climate change issues and the region’s response to managing and adapting to climate change. We maintain the Caribbean’s most extensive repository of information and data on climate change specific to the region, which in part enables us to provide climate change-related policy advice and guidelines to CARICOM member states through the CARICOM Secretariat. In this role, the Centre is recognized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the United Nations Environment Programme, and other international agencies as the focal point for climate change issues in the Caribbean. The Centre is also a United Nations Institute for Training and Research recognised Centre of Excellence. Go to www.caribbeanclimate.bz for more information.
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