Climate Change is an existential threat to the Caribbean

#1point5toStayAlive is a Panos Caribbean initiative to help make the Caribbean's case for 1.5°C.

Since 2009, Small Island Developing States and many others have been calling for limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels to prevent the worst of climate change impacts.

The inclusion of a 1.5°C temperature limit in the 2015 Paris Agreement was a major victory for vulnerable countries.

 

 

#1point5toStayAlive Frontpage News

 CNN / Christiane Amanpour Interview - 1 November 2021
Category: Voices of the 1.5°C Allies

AFP: "Last seven years on track to be hottest on record: UN"Last seven years on track to be hottest on record: UN"

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley: #COP 26 World Leaders Summit Speech (UNCC - YouTube)

Climate Tracker / Vishani Ragobeer: "The best of both worlds? Guyana wants to be a low-carbon oil producer"

Climate Tracker / Zico Cozier: "‘A matter of life or death’"

Jamaica Gleaner: "Antigua, Tuvalu to seek justice over climate change damage"

The Guardian: "Climate experts warn world leaders 1.5C is ‘real science’, not just talking point"

The Guardian: "What is deforestation – and is stopping it really possible?"

The Guardian: "US rejoins coalition to achieve 1.5C goal at UN climate talks"

Category: 1.5°C Press

1 NOVEMBER 2021 - Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI)

The 26th Meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP26) to the UN Climate Change Convention in Glasgow, UK represents a critical moment to tackle the climate crisis and set us on the pathway to a low carbon and resilient future. CANARI joins other activists and civil society organisations across the globe in calling for urgent and strengthened commitments to limit global temperature increase to 1.5C and address the needs of the most vulnerable communities and countries including Caribbean small island states.

 

Category: Voices of the 1.5°C Allies

28 OCTOBER 2021

JAKE HESS, RESEARCHER AT THE WORLD BANK (WASHINGTON)

The World Bank is facing the biggest test in its history. Next week, Bank executives are attending the Cop26 global climate summit in Glasgow, where key decisions about the fate of humanity will be made. If the Bank wants to achieve its official goals of eradicating poverty and building shared prosperity, now is the time to step up. Because nothing will increase poverty and undermine prosperity more than runaway global warming.

I have watched this drama unfold from the inside, because I work at the World Bank. Sadly, I have little confidence that my employer will become a climate leader any time soon.

→ READ MORE ON THE GUARDIAN'S OPINIONS

Category: 1.5°C Press

28 OCTOBER 2021

A new report, the State of Climate Action 2021, looks at whether we are doing enough to achieve the Paris Agreement’s goals. It finds that, to date, none of the 40 indicators assessed are on track to reach 2030 targets. 

→ READ MORE ON WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE'S WEBSITE

Category: Voices of the 1.5°C Allies

15 OCTOBER 2021 - BILL MCKIBBEN

“There are economic as well as non-economic costs that result from both extreme weather events like hurricanes and floods and slow onset climatic processes such as sea level rise and salinization,” he said in an email. “Loss and damage includes permanent and irreversible losses such as to lives, livelihoods, homes and territory, for which an economic value can be calculated, and also to non-economic impacts such as the loss of culture, identity and biodiversity, which cannot be quantified in monetary terms.”

→ READ MORE ON YALE ENVIRONMENT 360

Category: 1.5°C Press

27 OCTOBER 2021

caricom logo

As the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) readies itself for participation in the upcoming global Climate Change conference, COP 26,  it issued a pre-Conference Declaration this week giving notice  that the Region faces a climate emergency and demanding action.

 

The CARICOM Declaration on Climate Change, approved at a meeting of CARICOM Ministers with responsibility for Climate Change, made an urgent call for unswerving global solidarity to deliver ambition, timely action, and support for a just transition during this decade, with the aim of limiting global warming to well below 1.5°C.

 

The Declaration demanded climate justice and the assurance that the Region’s survival will not be compromised.  It called on leaders at COP26 to close the emissions gap, scale up finance particularly for the most vulnerable, and agree to rules to guide parties to progressively increase and demonstrate highest ambition.

→ READ THE FULL DECLARATION ON CARICOM'S WEBSITE

Category: Voices of the 1.5°C Allies

26 OCTOBER 2021

More than 300 civil society organisations sent an open letter to COP26 President Elect Alok Sharma and other world leaders demanding that COP26 urgently commit to deliver finance on Loss and Damage. 

AN OPEN LETTER TO WORLD LEADERS

We, the undersigned, from over 300 organisations from across the world, spanning a broad range of institutions and movements, from humanitarian and development organisations to youth groups, Indigenous Peoples organisations, trade unions and climate justice groups, call on you today to ensure that COP26 delivers finance for loss and damage.

→ READ THE FULL LETTER AND MORE ON CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK INTERNATIONAL'S WEBSITE

→ LEARN MORE ABOUT LOSS & DAMAGE WITH OUR EXPLAINER VIDEO FEATURING SAINT LUCIA'S DAWN PIERRE-NATHONIEL

Category: Voices of the 1.5°C Allies

26 october 2021

Countries' latest climate plans will deliver just a tiny percentage of the emissions cuts needed to limit global heating to 1.5C, the United Nations said on Tuesday in a damning assessment ahead of the COP26 climate summit. Just days before the Glasgow meeting, which is being billed as crucial for the long-term viability of the Paris climate deal, the UN's Environment Programme said that national plans to reduce carbon pollution amounted to "weak promises, not yet delivered".

→ READ MORE ON YAHOO! NEWS

Category: 1.5°C Press

19 October 2021
'Seriously' podcast series

British-Jamaican audio artist and DJ Weyland McKenzie-Witter explores the sometimes uneasy relationship between the Black and the Green, as political movements and ideas: "As the climate catastrophe becomes worse, the effect it is having on our homelands is something affecting Black people uniquely. With the face of climate activism being so predominantly white, and with Black political attention elsewhere, which voices will be heard?"

→ LISTEN ON THE BBC WEBSITE

Category: 1.5°C Press

Will this be a true landmark moment?

COP 26, the next Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has been billed as a landmark moment in humanity’s struggle against the impending climate disaster. The disaster is at our doorstep, and this year it has been inside the flooded homes of hundreds of people in Germany and the United Kingdom, inside the burnt houses in Australia’s Blue Mountains, deep into the Californian sequoia forests that succumbed to flames, and has swept across the villages and farms devastated by fire in many countries of southern Europe. For small islands, the disasters have become far too common, with stronger hurricanes, floods, unusually long and extreme droughts, and sea-level rise threatening shorelines. 

gladding 1.5 2021For the powerful countries in the Global North, those that have the largest carbon footprint, the climate disaster is no longer the reality of distant islands and continents or that of a distant future. It is real, and it is now. It would be a shame if the G20 and the COP26 do not reaffirm the fundamental commitments of achieving a carbon-neutral world by mid-century and ensure that temperature increase is capped at a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. As stated by Prof. Michael Taylor of the University of the West Indies, “heading to 2°C is too much for Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Even at 1.5°C, we are only guaranteed half a chance of a liveable future”.

 

Climate justice? Should we fight the injustice?

 

It is largely thanks to Mary Robinson and a few other visionaries around the world, including the Caribbean’s own Dessima Williams, that the linkages between social justice and climate change were first articulated. But nowadays it seems that almost every action, every position, every statement must come under the label of “climate justice”. This is potentially dangerous. It is potentially dangerous because we run the risk of losing the focus on social justice and of diluting the meaning of climate justice. Of course, it always sounds good to talk about justice, it sounds right and progressive; but one cannot fight for justice without fighting against injustice, and we can see many climate-related policies, programmes, projects and investments in the region that do little, if anything, for social justice.

So, where is the injustice? It is, first of all, in the fact that it is the poorest and the most vulnerable in our societies who are the most directly and severely affected by climate change. It is in the injustice of poverty and exclusion, including the exclusion of large sectors of society from decision-making. It is in the disproportionate impact of climate change, especially extreme climate events, on women and girls. It is in histories of neglect and racism that have marginalised communities and made them more vulnerable. It is also in the unequal power relations between large and rich countries and those in the Global South that suffer the most from climate change.

As we approach COP 26, and in the coming years, we should perhaps be a little more rigorous in our use and understanding of the concept of climate justice, and spend more time and more energy in understanding, denouncing and fighting climate-related injustice. We should avoid sticking the “climate justice” label on any statement, action or project, as if this were enough to give us good conscience and secure funding. 

Category: The Case for 1.5°C
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21 OCTOBER 2021

The data shows that the richest 10% of the global population emits nearly 48% of global emissions in 2019, the top 1% emits 17% of the total, whereas the poorest half of the global population emits 12% of global emissions. 

→ READ MORE HERE

Category: 1.5°C Facts

21 OCTOBER 2021

A huge leak of documents seen by BBC News shows how countries are trying to change a crucial scientific report on how to tackle climate change. The leak reveals Saudi Arabia, Japan and Australia are among countries asking the UN to play down the need to move rapidly away from fossil fuels. It also shows some wealthy nations are questioning paying more to poorer states to move to greener technologies. This "lobbying" raises questions for the COP26 climate summit in November.

Category: 1.5°C Press

20 OCTOBER 2021

The Lancet is an independent, international weekly general medical journal

LANCETREPORT

The health impacts of #ClimateChange are worsening in all world regions and exacerbating inequities. At #COP26, decision-makers must show leadership and deliver an equitable, green recovery from COVID-19.

 

The Lancet Countdown is an international collaboration that independently monitors the health consequences of a changing climate. Publishing updated, new, and improved indicators each year, the Lancet Countdown represents the consensus of leading researchers from 43 academic institutions and UN agencies. The 44 indicators of this report expose an unabated rise in the health impacts of climate change and the current health consequences of the delayed and inconsistent response of countries around the globe—providing a clear imperative for accelerated action that puts the health of people and planet above all else.

→ READ MORE ON THE LANCET'S WEBSITE

Category: 1.5°C Facts

17 October 2021

CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY CLIMATE CHANGE CENTRE (CCCCC)

The Glasgow Climate Change Conference (COP26) takes place during what the region describes as a historic time with multiple crises and a rapidly closing window of opportunity for an effective global response.

→ READ MORE ON CCCCC'S WEBSITE

Category: Voices of the 1.5°C Allies

IDERA.briefingnote.cop26​

With only a few days left before the start of COP26, the International Development Empowerment and Representation Agency (iDERA) has released a very useful and comprehensive briefing note that presents the main positions and expectations of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in forthcoming negotiations. On 14 October, iDERA and the University of York’s Environmental Sustainability Institute (YESI) hosted a webinar during which this note was presented and discussed.

In the invitation to the webinar, the organisers wrote that “there have been many ‘pre-COP’ events, but this one will be different and meaningful. It will not be experts lecturing; nor will it entail the rehashing of national positions; rather it will offer the opportunity for Representatives, Officials, scholars and experts to jointly explore new thinking and approaches that hopefully will contribute to positive outcomes for SIDS, and by extension, the rest of the world”. 

This was actually the case, as the discussion chaired by iDERA’s Edwin Laurent produced very concrete and relevant ideas. We are pleased to share and recommend the briefing note, as it is indeed different and meaningful, at a time when too many of the ‘pre-COP’ events and position papers appear satisfied with very general statements and recommendations that are not directly linked to what will be on the negotiating table in Glasgow. 

→ DOWNLOAD IDERA'S BRIEFING NOTE, "SURVIVAL OF SMALL ISLANDS: WILL COP26 DELIVER?" (PDF DOCUMENT)

Category: Voices of the 1.5°C Allies

15 October 2021

THE GUARDIAN'S FULL STORY PODCAST SERIES

In the second part of our special podcast series, we travel across the Pacific to islands in Papua New Guinea where people are being forced to leave due to rising sea levels, and to the tiny nation of Tuvalu where people are fighting to remain. We speak to islanders who have been forced to make devastating decisions due to a climate crisis not of their making

→ LISTEN TO THE PODCAST ON THE GUARDIAN'S WEBSITE

Category: 1.5°C Press

12 October 2021

Blog by Gladys Habu, youth climate advocate from the Solomon Islands

GLADYSHABU

I have been advocating for climate action for over half my life and I still do not believe we are doing enough. Instead, what I am seeing is political division.

Our islands are sinking. Our people are being displaced. Our children are going hungry. Our communities are becoming unhealthy and dying.

→ READ & WATCH MORE ON THE COMMONWEALTH'S WEBSITE

Category: Voices of the 1.5°C Allies

14 OCTOBER 2021 - HANNAH THOMAS-PETER, CLIMATE CHANGE CORRESPONDENT

Grenada's minister for climate and environment has told Sky News that the COP26 climate summit is a "make or break" moment for the survival of dozens of island nations.

Simon Stiell said: "I think it's make or break. The support of the international community... is absolutely essential for us, and other developing nations... for our survival. And our right to thrive - survival is such a base term. I want more for my children than just to survive. I want more for my people. I want more for myself than just to survive. We need to be able to thrive."

→ READ AND WATCH MORE ON SKY NEWS

Category: 1.5°C Press

13 October 2021

CASA - Climate Ambition Support Alliance

logo casa min

Two leading spokeswomen from the High Ambition Coalition of countries, which is advocating for ambitious outcomes from the UNFCCC talks, have today set out their expectations of what COP26 should deliver for the world.

 

Andrea Meza Murillo, Minister of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica, and Tina Stege, Climate Envoy of the Republic of Marshall Islands, today held a joint conference where they underscored that:

 

The highest-emitting countries must strongly enhance their national climate plans, the Nationally Determined Contributions in advance of COP26;

Finance for climate action must be approached in a holistic, whole-of-economy fashion, in every country;

Respect and preservation of human rights through climate-related actions should be a paramount principle.

→ READ MORE ON CASA WEBSITE

Category: Voices of the 1.5°C Allies
  1. Climate Central: 180 places threatened by rising sea levels
  2. CANARI: "Climate justice, gender and COVID-19 in the Caribbean"
  3. BARBADOS TODAY: "New UWI climate change think-tank hailed as critical"
  4. REUTERS: "UN declares access to a clean environment a human right"
  5. THE CONVERSATION (CANADA): "COP26: what’s the point of this year’s UN climate summit in Glasgow?"