The Caribbean Community continues to plan the way forward following the recent signing of the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

Member agencies of the Regional Coordinating Committee on Climate Change (RCCC) met in St. Lucia 27-28 April, to review the progress made in the implementation of the region’s climate change plan and discuss the way forward.

The Committee, mandated by CARICOM Heads of Government to coordinate the Region’s Climate Change efforts,  is chaired by the Minister for Sustainable Development, Energy, Science, Technology and Public Utilities, Dr. James Fletcher of Saint Lucia and comprises  CARICOM specialized agencies, academic institutions and regional financial institutions.  Assistant Secretary-General, Human and Sustainable Development  Dr. Douglas Slater is the CARICOM Secretariat’s representative on the Committee.

The committee deliberated on the role that these regional institutions could play in assisting CARICOM member states in implementing their obligations of the Paris Agreement on climate change. CARICOM member states were among the 175 countries which signed the agreement on April 22nd in New York. In addition, five CARICOM members deposited their instruments of ratification while others have pledged to do so in the immediate future.

Recognizing that the region is already experiencing the impacts of climate change and climate variability, agencies have been undertaking work within their respective mandates to ensure the resilience of the Caribbean. These activities are articulated in the region’s Implementation Plan which is used to guide regional and national approaches to enhancing the region’s response to the impacts of climate change and climate variability.

The donor community was invited to share their plans to assist the region in the implementation of the Paris Agreement with a view towards integrating these into the revision and updating of the Implementation Plan. The meeting was organized by the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre with the support of UK DFID.