Secretary-General of CARICOM, Dr Carla Barnett arrived in Glasgow on Monday morning, since then she's been quietly supporting negotiators and their delegations as they do the hard work of fighting for climate justice. But this afternoon in an official address to the community she spoke from COP26 giving the Caribbean and the world an insight into the Climate state of the region.
Here's how she laid the scene.
Dr. Carla Barnette, Secretary General, CARICOM
"It will require innovation, increase institutional human capacity and technology across multiple sectors, not the least of which is the agriculture sector. It requires full and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement. The covid19 pandemic is further complicating the outlook for the climate agenda, despite acknowledgment that the economic recovery from covid19 presents an unprecedented opportunity for transformation. to support the transformation is needed to aggressively tackle climate change in a just and inclusive manner. The Caribbean is recognized as one of the regions that is most vulnerable to adverse impact of climate change."
"Climate change is a reality for the Caribbean community. We live it, we breathe it. We are feeling it every day. It is an existential threat to our member states. During the past 10 years the Caribbean has been affected by 40 tropical cyclones of which 12 attained hurricane strength and 8 were classified as major hurricanes. They produce flooding, landslides, damage to infrastructure and housing, dislocation and the loss of life and property."
"Six Caribbean states are rank in the 10 most disaster-prone countries in the world and all are in the top 50, costing the region 2% of its GDP every year."
