Drought in parts of the Caribbean during the first half of 2025 is a cause for concern for the Caribbean Drought and Precipitation Monitoring Network (CDPMN).
In its Drought Bulletin for January 2025, the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) – under which the CDPMN operates – advised that short-term drought could affect small rivers, streams and ponds in the northern Bahamas islands and Cuba by the end of March.
The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC), the Government of Guyana, and Guyana Water Incorporated in partnership with the European Union (EU) last week officially commissioned a solar-powered water treatment plant in Port Mourant, Berbice. This landmark project signifies a significant step towards climate resilience in the region by integrating renewable energy into critical water infrastructure.
A CARICOM Technical Working Group on maritime matters held discussions on 18 December that focused on negotiations for measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the shipping industry.
"The project encourages local youth to understand, appreciate, and advocate for the protection of these vital ecosystems, aiming to inspire lifelong environmental commitment among the next generation.”
The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC), in collaboration with the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (GoSVG), on 26 November 2024, launched a US$3M project to fast-track climate action.
Another CARICOM Member State has ratified the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement).
Saint Lucia deposited its Instruments of Ratification on 26 November 2024, joining Belize and Barbados in ratifying the BBNJ that was agreed upon in March 2023 and opened for signature in September 2023.
Dr. Carla Barnett, CARICOM Secretary-General, participated in the Ivan Plus 20 Dialogue that was held in Baku, Azerbaijan. The event took place on Friday 15 November, in the margins of the Twenty-Ninth Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 29).
The Dialogue focused on shaping a resilient Caribbean by 2044.
The Hon. Philip Davis, Prime Minister of The Bahamas, has issued a call for the Region's bilateral and multilateral partners to scale up resources for climate adaptation and loss and damage, and to ensure that Small Island Developing States (SIDS) can access the funds quickly.
CARICOM Secretary-General, Dr. Carla Barnett, over the past week, held discussions with key figures in the margins of the Twenty-Ninth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in Baku, Azerbaijan. The two-week Conference of the Parties opened on 11 November.
On Thursday 14 November, the Secretary-General met Dr. Mohammed Nagdee, Executive Director of the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE).
Chair of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Prime Minister of Grenada, Hon. Dickon Mitchell, called for the closing of the "significant" financing gap Small Island Developing States face in mitigating and adapting to the climate crisis.