The Caribbean Community Climate Change Center is moving from its current location - a rented office at the the David L Mckoy Building - to their own digs at University of Belize.
Today saw the groundbreaking for its new office, which will be completed in 18 months. Attending to participate was the CARICOM Lead Head of Government for Sustainable Development the Prime Minister of St Lucia Phillip Pierre.
We spoke to the executive director on how combining the center's work with academic can elevate Belize's response to climate change.
Voice of: Dr Colin Young, Executive Director, CCCCC
"This is going to be a mutually strategic partnership where the 5 C's will assist UB to develop a center of excellence, have a climate change program, provide scholarships and training for faculty and students and the 5 C's will also assist with research mobilization to help the university."
"For 20 years the 5C's has been in Belize and it is unfortunate that it has taken this long for this type of strategic partnership to happen with the national university. All over the world, you're seeing partnerships between technical institutes and universities because this balance between academia, the private sector and the science is critical to national development and so by having such a partnership then UB can continue to expand the role it plays in doing applied research that then can be utilized by policy makers to make decisions about how we pursue sustainable development."
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"For me, it's a sense of accomplishment. As I've said before, the Climate Change Center, when the 5 C's agreed to come to Belize, I was the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment and worked several years along with Prime Minister Musa back then to get the support from the Caribbean to put the 5 C's in Belize and now we can look back and realize that yes, it was the right decision. Belize has everything, it's a living laboratory where you can go from the sea all the way up into the mountains, into the forest, the wildlife, the fisheries, the marine life. So we have everything here and so now coming 20 years later as prime minister, it gives you a sense of accomplishment to see something that you started off has come to this and this morning what we did was to break ground to be able to build a headquarters for the 5 C's and where best but UB so we can combine academia with the scientists and the research and everything so it's a right fit and I'm very proud of what we did here today, Belize as a country and the 5 C's."
The 5C's Centre also had a Panel Discussion at the Biltmore. and they are having an event at this hour at the Biltmore.
