Future of Caribbean development must be risk-informed – CARICOM SG at COP27 side event

On the sidelines of COP 27 underway in Egypt, CARICOM Secretary-General, Dr. Carla Barnett on Monday participated in a conversation on early warning systems, insurance schemes and adaptations in the Caribbean.

The event was hosted by CARICOM and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and was titled ‘Environmental Monitoring for Loss and Damage: Early Warning Systems and Impact Attribution Capacity in the Caribbean SIDS’. It was held at the SDG Pavilion in Sharm El Sheikh.

The Secretary-General highlighted the urgent need for accurate and timely information that can be used for informing, forecasting, early warning and loss and damage projections, given the increased frequency and intensity of weather events in the seismically active CARICOM region.

The future of Caribbean development, she said, must be risk-informed and planned with multiple concurrent and cascading hazards in mind.

“This is what we live with. Haiti and St. Vincent and the Grenadines can testify to the complexities of managing – as they did last year – COVID-19, hurricane season and major geological disasters at the same time,” the Secretary-General said at the one-hour forum.

She added that the six Member States of CARICOM that experienced the major impact of late season weather events within the past two weeks can testify to the urgency of being better able to predict and prepare for extreme weather events and adequately finance recovery and to rebuild with resilience.

She stressed the urgency for the Region to build resilience in all facets of its development, and the support that is necessary to do so and tackle climate change.

Listen to her remarks:

Source: CARICOM TODAY