Politics
Caribbean Forced to choose between climate change impact and MDGs
Spencer pointed out, “There is no doubt that on the whole the impacts of climate change on small islands will have serious negative effects especially on socio-economic conditions and bio physical resources including the land.” The number of hurricanes passing through the Caribbean has risen from about five percent in the early 20th century to more than 25 in part of the 21st century.
He went on to say, “One study prepared for the World Bank estimates the potential economic impact of such related climate change on CARICOM (Caribbean Community) countries could be as much as 10 billion dollars.” The EU funding is being made available through its Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA) project.
In the Caribbean, the GCCA is active in Jamaica, Belize, and Guyana as well as within the Caribbean Community Climate Change Center. Barford hopes the project will strengthen the bonds between the EU and the OECS countries in the joint efforts in international climate change negotiations. He concluded, “There is clear evidence that climate change is having an effect on the region,” Barford pointed out. He said that only recently, two OECS member states, St. Lucia as well as St. Vincent and the Grenadines, signalled that they had severe water problems.
Source: Caribbean360
