Author: Tecla Fontenard

The risks associated with climate change are endless and no one is immune from its foreseeable threats.  For the Caribbean, climate change impacts are everywhere, with familiar stories about stock depletion, resource scarcity, social and environmental vulnerability, weather-related traumas, loss, panic, and anxiety, many people visualize a dire picture of the future.

Meanwhile, governments in the Caribbean are expected to scramble for climate adaptation funds to meet investment needs that are estimated to be “more than one-third of their annual economic output”, according to an IMF blog post of June 2023.  To cope with the climate crisis, understanding climate risk management is becoming increasingly important says Mr. Keith Nichols, a longtime advocate, and trainer of the Caribbean Climate Online Risk and Adaptation Tool (CCORAL), developed by the CCCCC, where Nichols works as a Project Manager.

CCORAL (pronounced See-Coral) is an online tool designed to screen the level of risks to climate change a project may encounter.  In developing the tool, the CCCCC recognised that “all organisations including donor and development banks operating at regional and national levels should ‘stress-test’ policies and decisions against the potential impact of a changing climate”. 

In Grenada, government stakeholders take climate risk management seriously.  The NDC partnership estimates that “by 2050, climate change could cost the country USD 800 million.  With its population of an estimated 100,000 people, this could wreak havoc on the small island.

During the roll-out of an e-course to train stakeholders in Grenada to use the CCORAL Tool, Hon. Kerryne James, Minister of Climate Resilience, the Environment and Renewable Energy, and Permanent Secretary (PS) Peron Johnson of the same Ministry were present throughout the four-day workshop. “This is the first time we had the participation of a Minister and PS” notes Ms Diana Ruiz, a project manager at the CCCCC and co-facilitator at the workshop.

The walk-through of the CCORAL e-platform, developed through funds from the European Union (EU), was a step-by-step demonstration of how to access the tool and included a presentation on the components of the tool including the map page, the screening exercise, the worksheets, the end-to-end tools, the toolbox, and other available resources.

The tool is accessible to all those interested in its utility and is described as an instrument that helps assess, address, and analyse climate impact scenarios for small, medium, and large-scale projects. “It is available online, for everyone.  It is for national practitioners, and for people involved in preparing development plans in various governments and institutions.  It could be used by the private sector, by associations of engineers and architects, by ministerial officials, regulators, technical staff, students, and academia” Ruiz disclosed.

For the government of Grenada, the CCORAL tool offers a fundamental climate lens by which they can perceive infrastructure projects.  The tool was first piloted in Grenada in 2013 and according to Ruiz, “four months after the training was completed, the trainees introduced the tool to other local stakeholders and proceeded to screen and climate-proof several national initiatives and projects using the tool.”  

Since then, Government stakeholders have never looked back.   They are one of only two CARICOM States that have embedded the CCORAL tool into decision-making requirements submissions to the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP).  This is significant for Nichols, who continues the sensitisation and socialization of the tool across CARICOM States, including Grenada. “That is what building resilience is all about”, Nichols observed, “it is planning in such a way to take climate change into consideration.” Ultimately, everyone benefits.  The country benefits. The people benefit because losses are reduced”. 

Grenada’s prioritization of climate management and risk reduction sets an example for other Caribbean governments. Integrating climate resilience into decision-making processes is key to avoiding setbacks to sustainable development plans.