Earth Today | Regional group wants greater ownership of climate change response

THE SCALE up of locally led and ecosystem-based solutions for adaptation and resilience are among the five strategic areas identified by the Caribbean Climate Justice Alliance for priority attention at the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), which is to begin in Egypt next week.

“Locally led adaptation must be included in the Global Goal on Adaptation, with the objective to effectively track and measure progress aligned with the Principles for Locally led Adaptation and account for the quantity and quality of climate finance allocated. There must also be active engagement of front-line communities and civil society organisations in the Glasgow-Sharma El-Sheikh work programme within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change process,” the Alliance said, in a document published on the subject on October 27.

Convened by the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI), the Alliance brings together leading civil society organisations (CSOs), academia, creatives and other non-state actors and their networks working across different sectors and aspects of climate justice for greater engagement and collaboration to influence policy.

“Scaling up and integrating ecosystem-based approaches to adapt and build local resilience is also key. Natural ecosystems have intrinsic value, as well as serving as natural defences and being critical to major economic sectors in the Caribbean region, including tourism, agriculture and fisheries, and the livelihoods of rural and Indigenous communities. Investing in conserving, sustainably managing and restoring ecosystems can provide multiple benefits in terms of building ecological, economic and social resilience as well as mitigation co-benefits through carbon sequestration by forests and mangroves,” the group explained.

It is necessary, they insist, that ecosystem-based approaches have stakeholder engagement and feature consideration of livelihoods for effective implementation.

CRITICAL TO RESPOND TO NEEDS

“Taking into account how stakeholders are engaged, use of local alongside scientific knowledge and how to ensure good governance and balance conservation and development goals for socio-economic benefits is critical to respond to local needs, especially of the most vulnerable, and to achieve fair and equitable outcomes,” they said.

Also forming a part of their priority list are:

• Improving access to and delivery of climate finance for front-line communities, small and micro-enterprises and civil society organisations;

• Ensuring additional and dedicated finance for loss and damage and operationalising the Santiago Network on Loss and Damage;

• Supporting a just transition for pro-poor, inclusive, sustainable and resilient development; and

• Curbing emissions to limit global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

“Ambitious efforts to rapidly cut emissions and drive action for a just transition away from fossil fuels during this decade are needed to set us on an achievable and robust pathway to net zero. G20 countries must immediately stop subsidising the fossil fuel industry, as they have done to the amount of US$3.3 trillion between 2015 and 2019,” said the group, whose members include Climate Analytics Caribbean; Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Research Centre at University of The Bahamas; Climate Tracker; Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC); Freedom Imaginaries; and GirlsCARE Jamaica, among others.

“G20 countries also need to update and align their 2030 Nationally Determined Contributions to a 1.5 degrees Celsius compatible emissions pathway and commit to net zero emissions by 2050 [iii], [iv]. Other countries must commit to reduce their emissions consistent with a 1.5 degrees Celsius pathway. Similarly, the aviation and shipping industries must ensure that their emissions are reduced and made compliant with the goals of the Paris Agreement,” they added.

COP27 is to see some 45,000 registered participants from government, industry, the scientific community and civil society gathering to contemplate and influence negotiations on what is considered the primary challenge facing the world today – climate change.

Caribbean and other small island developing states, whose interests the Alliance reflect, are considered among the most vulnerable to the varied risks and threats of a changing climate – from the ongoing warming of the planet to severe weather events, sea level rise and the associated impacts on public health and well-being.

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