Earth Today | Support for global stocktake of climate action
Published:Thursday | April 27, 2023 | 12:32 AM
CARIBBEAN STAKEHOLDERS are championing support for the global stocktake (GST) of climate action, as the region looks to enhance its readiness for varied climate change impacts.
Caribbean small island developing states (SIDS) are among the most vulnerable to climate change impacts – from the warming of the planet to extreme weather events and the associated risks to public health, water and food security.
In a recent release to the media, Climate Analytics Caribbean – which works to deliver cutting-edge science analysis and support to accelerate climate action to limit warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius – has noted the importance of realising a successful stocktake, given what is at stake for the region.
“With the Caribbean on the frontlines of the climate crisis, the GST presents a critical opportunity for countries to implement initiatives to reduce emissions, and for our region and other SIDS to receive much-needed financial and technological support to adjust and adapt to climate impacts,” said the entity, which convened the ‘Islands All In for GST 2023’ event to commemorate Earth Day 2023 on April 22.
The GST is currently underway with data gathering on the implementation of the Paris Agreement, which embodies the commitments of countries the world over to respond to climate change.
It is intended to evaluate the efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming to less than two degrees Celsius, build resilience to climate impacts, and align finance flows with needed efforts to address the climate crisis.
The process, which began at the UN Climate Conference in 2021 (COP26), is also intended to inform next steps, including making required individual country adjustments to the nationally determined contributions to emissions reductions. The expectation is that the process for the first GST is expected to conclude at the upcoming UN climate conference later this year.
According to local sustainable development professional Eleanor Jones, there is no question of the value of the GST and the need for countries, including Jamaica and other Caribbean SIDS, to participate fully.
“We are an island, but we are not an island when it comes to the impacts of climate change. We are susceptible to the things that are taking place all around us with respect to climate change. The Caribbean is, indeed, on the front line of the climate crisis. That is something that we must take into consideration, and so this process [of the GST] is extremely important,” she noted.
“The stocktake is collecting the data and assessing what it means; and things are getting worse. Caribbean SIDS must therefore not only support the process but also pay attention to what it is saying and take action. And it is not about doom and gloom, it is about taking action, adjusting the sails,” added Jones, who heads the consultancy firm Environmental Solutions Limited, which does work across the region.
Her sentiments were echoed by Indi Mclymont-Lafayette, a long-time climate justice advocate and gender specialist who has worked on the front line of climate change negotiations.
“This GST is critical for Caribbean islands. It is crucial that we know where we stand in terms of climate impacts, as well as what is happening with some of the bigger countries who are major emitters,” she explained.
“I am saddened to see research showing that Trinidad is warming 2.5 times faster than the global average or that Kingston is already experiencing climate departure where every year seems hotter than before.This was what we had feared when I started working in climate awareness in 2005 and now some of it is coming to pass,” Mclymont-Lafayette added.
Fortunately, she said, the GST offers the chance for important insights and a guide to critical next steps.
“The GST allows a comprehensive look at where countries are with climate mitigation and adaptation. If we don’t get it and move swiftly to implement climate actions to curtail emissions, we may miss the narrow window or the tipping point where we are too late to reverse things. I urge countries to act on their GST now,” said Mclymont-Lafayette, who is also head of Change Communications Limited.