(Jamaica Gleaner) BRUSSELS, Belgium: The global community is being urged to take immediate action to slow the effects of climate change which, evidence shows, has over several years resulted in the development of significant catastrophic events across the world.
These consequences of climate change are especially concerning to the more vulnerable regions such as the Caribbean as its impact continues to worsen.
“Without that kind of action over the next two decades, our future is very much in jeopardy,” said Dr Michelle Mycoo, professor of urban and regional planning at The University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago, who was speaking at the recently concluded EU-Latin America and the Caribbean Forum – Partners in Change: Youth, Civil Society and Local Authorities, which was held from July 13-14.
Continuing her presentation, which focused on projections indicating that climate change will destroy the Caribbean and, more specifically, small island developing states (SIDS), Mycoo stated that, if a change is not made, the ripple effects of climate change would result in many islands becoming uninhabitable.
Every year, the Caribbean is exposed to potentially life-threatening weather phenomena like heatwaves, drought, and earthquakes. Not to mention during the Atlantic hurricane season (June 1 to November 30) when the region begins to experience extreme weather conditions, including tropical storms, tropical depressions and hurricanes that lead to landslides, flooding and loss of lives and property.
More recently, on July 4, the Earth’s temperature unofficially spiked to a record-breaking high, making it the hottest day experienced in decades. The globe’s average temperature reached 62.9 degrees Fahrenheit (17.18 degrees Celsius) according to the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer, a common tool based on satellite data, observations, and computer simulations and used by climate scientists for a glimpse of the world’s condition.
Just one month earlier, in June, the country’s capital city of San Juan had a record-breaking heatwave that caused the heat index to soar to 125 degrees Fahrenheit (52 degrees Celsius).
“So, for example, in Dominica in 2017, we saw the impact of a hurricane that destroyed almost all of Dominica’s infrastructure, and it amounted to about 225 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP), that’s just one island and these are tiny islands,” she said.
She further explained that such disastrous events have led to not only the loss of lives, limbs and economic assets but caused tremendous damage to human beings by causing mental stress.
Mycoo also highlighted the impact on health that climate change will cause, whereas, when there is heavy rainfall and higher temperatures, vectors such as mosquitoes begin to proliferate and result in high instances of dengue and other diseases.
As the Saharan dust clouds are now a common occurrence affecting the region, Mycoo said children in particular will become overwhelmed as the dust plumes will lead to increased cases of asthma and other respiratory-related issues, as well as cause dehydration.
Given that many of the capital cities of the Caribbean islands are situated in the low elevation coastal zone, putting the population and infrastructure at risk, there is concern that cities and infrastructure throughout the region won’t be able to withstand the effects of climate change.
“There is a need for urgent action at the global level. Global cooperation is needed to ensure that the mountain loss of life and the potential loss of our biodiversity and infrastructure require that much more ambitious action be taken to reduce the carbon emissions.
Shawn Edward, the minister of education, sustainable development, innovation, science, technology, and vocational training in St Lucia, had expressed concerns over the high expense of rebuilding damaged property, which would be in hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars and be tough to come by during his opening remarks at the event.
Speaking about this, Mycoo said that, because a large percentage of climate funding still came through conventional bilateral aid channels, Caribbean SIDS had substantially less access to it.
“Climate change knows know borders,” said Sandra Guzmán, executive director of Grupo de Financiamiento Climático para América Latina y el Caribe – GFLAC (Climate Finance Group of Latin America and the Caribbean) for her part.
Diverse strategies needed
She stated that, to fulfil the differing needs of the Latin American and Caribbean region, diverse strategies must be taken. Along with a change in how cities developed, she said, there was a demand for programmes to be established to reduce poverty and improve health and well-being.
“We don’t want little one-term projects,” she stated, requesting instead long-term partnerships that would be beneficial to both parties.
Guzmán urged the European Union to provide more funding to help the region deal with the heatwave issue and other catastrophic natural events through the establishment of a financial system that does not result in debt.
“I would say we have a huge opportunity to learn from each other … we need to stop seeing each other [from the] top down,” she added.
GFLAC is an initiative by a group of civil society organisations and academic institutions which work on the themes of climate change and transparency and encountered the necessity to face the fundamental challenges persisting in Latin America and the Caribbean.