2015 begins with urgency to save Caribbean from climate change – Sanders

By Michelle Nurse Last updated Jan 5, 2015

If ever there was a time and an issue for the countries of the Caribbean to speak with one voice and at a high level, both the time and the issue have arrived.

The issue is the global average temperature arising from climate change which is now scientifically indisputable. A decade of research shows that a rise in temperature of two degrees Celsius (2°C) is a dangerous threshold, particularly for small islands and countries with low-lying coastlines. Yet, the world is heading in that direction with all the potential for the ruin of small islands, and the destruction of human habitats on low lying coastal areas in countries such as Belize and Guyana.

Throughout 2015, the countries of the Caribbean need to scale up their participation, responses and advocacy in every international forum on this issue. The time has come for the appointment of a high-level figure to head-up a permanent team of Caribbean experts, including members of the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre, to represent the region with a single, strong voice. That team and its leader – accountable to Heads of Government – should be responsible for several important aspects of this grave problem that threatens the existence of some Caribbean countries and the viability of all of them.