Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Climate Change Adaptation for SIDS at COP26 (Nov. 10, 2021)

The economic impact of climate change for vulnerable countries -- particularly Small Island Developing States like those in the Caribbean -- along with the need to finance adaptation measures, is a major issue at the COP26 meeting in Glasgow. "Islands have contributed little to global emissions yet stand to suffer disproportionately from climate change. Now, they are demanding more funding to protect themselves," reports The Nation.


A study released by charity Christian Aid this week highlighted the devastating economic impact climate change could inflict on the most vulnerable nations in the absence of sharp cuts to climate-heating emissions and measures to adapt to warming already baked in. (Reuters)

The Paris Agreement laid out the need for financing for both mitigation and adaptation measures. So far, about 75 percent of climate finance goes toward mitigation, reports Climate Wire, but climate-vulnerable countries are pushing to close that gap now.

Weather-driven losses to vulnerable islands in the Caribbean, combined with pandemic hits to tourism income, have caused debt levels and borrowing costs to soar.  That is leaving them struggling to invest in the climate protection their citizens need,the head of the U.N.-backed Green Climate Fund Yannick Glemarec told Reuters.

Lia Nicholson, lead negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States and a delegate of Antigua and Barbuda, said that the lack of economic aid has “forced islands into unsustainable debt, arresting development and holding us hostage to random acts of charity.”

Demands are especially strong for new types of "loss and damage" finance to help countries build back better after destructive disasters and relocate at-risk communities away from crumbling, flood-prone coastlines. Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley proposed a 1% tax on fossil fuel sales in high-emitting nations that would go into a special fund for countries that lose more than 5% of their GDP to extreme weather.

Loss and damage “is already a lived reality for the poorest communities in the world”, and even worse climate change impacts are ahead. Instead of waiting to resolve disagreements over liability, countries can agree to start providing loss and damage finance on the basis of solidarity, accounting for local needs, and the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities," argues a new Stockholm Environment Institute briefing paper

The Caribbean Development Bank called on developed countries to re-allocate 2% of their latest Special Drawing Rights to facilitate investment in climate adaptation measures in small island developing states.

The CDB also proposed a resilience-adjusted Gross National Income measure for Small Island Developing States to access concessional finance.

More COP26
  • Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley's representation of and advocacy for the Caribbean region at COP26 captured international attention -- Global Voices

Belize's debt-for-nature swap

Belize finalized the world's biggest debt-for-marine conservation deal last week: a commitment to protect the northern Hemisphere’s biggest barrier reef in exchange for aid to buy back its $533 million "superbond" at a discount. (See Sept. 21's Just Caribbean Updates) The announcement comes as COP26 delegates grapple with how to provide financial incentives to poorer countries to help combat climate change. (See above.)

It's a pioneering deal, in which Belize promises to to spend $4 million a year and fund a $23 million marine conservation trust to protect the world’s second-largest coral reef, damaged in the past by oil drilling and overdevelopment. The deal was financed by non-profit organization The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and European bank Credit Suisse.

Belize’s swap is large enough though that is can pave the way for many sovereign restructurings, which have often seen countries pushed to exploit environmentally-damaging resources such as oil, to also include eco-friendly elements, reports Reuters.

Belize’s investment will drive US$180 million back into the conservation of its marine ecosystems over the next two decades. The country has also committed to protecting 30 percent of its ocean territory, which it will achieve using a participatory, stakeholder-driven marine spatial planning process. (Nature Conservancy)

While debt-for-nature swaps waned in popularity since the 1990s, they are re-emerging as a solution to economic crises caused by the pandemic in the region, reports Diálogo Chino.

Climate Justice and Energy
  • Guyana is at existential risk from climate change, Georgetown could be submerged by rising sea levels. But the country has also bet its future on producing oil, the very fossil fuels that accelerate climate change, reports NPR.

  • The Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda and the Pacific nation of Tuvalu have registered a new commission with the United Nations, creating the possibility of claiming damages from major polluting countries through judicial means, such as the UN's International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. (CBS)

  • The Cayman Islands will undertake a climate change risk assessment with a UK-based environment agency that will identify the risks, threats and opportunities posed by climate change for biodiversity, society and the wider economy to shape future policy. (Cayman News Service)

  • A conflict between a private pool under construction on a beach, and a sea turtle that wanted to lay its eggs on that site, has become a symbol of the battle for Puerto Rico's waterfronts. (New York TimesHuffington Post)
Migration
  • Anti-deportation activists in the UK blocked a road in front of a detention center, in an attempt to prevent people slated for deportation to Jamaica. Many of the people came to the UK as children, and efforts to send them back to Jamaica, where they haven't been in decades have been controversial.(Guardian and Guardian)
  • The Dominican Republic is requiring hundreds of thousands of Haitians to register their whereabouts inside the country, a move the government said aims to shield the country from its neighbor's gang violence and unrest. But migrant advocates say the crackdown is exacerbating Dominican “xenophobia and racism” by playing into fears that Haitians are a nexus of crime, reports Bloomberg.

  • Haitian migrants are increasingly arriving in Puerto Rico, sounding alarms among top island officials, reports the Miami Herald.
Decolonization
  • A case before the U.S. Supreme Court looks at the legality of policies that exclude residents of Puerto Rico from a Social Security program. (New York Times) The justices seem reluctant to rule in favor of the Puerto Rico resident challenging the program, reports the Associated Press, instead implying it is up to Congress to rectify the problem of differential treatment.
,History
  • Barbados will digitize its Department of Archives at Black Rock, the world's second-largest cache of documents on the transatlantic slave trade, announced Prime Minister Mia Mottley. (Barbados Today)
Public Security
  • The ability and willingness of Haiti’s gangs to choke off fuel and water, seemingly at will, is enhancing their influence as they push the country to the brink, reports InSight Crime.
  • Equality for All Foundation Jamaica has blamed Jamaica’s social and justice systems for distressed members of the LGBTQ+ community falling prey to gangs in recent years. (Jamaica Gleaner)
Culture
  • Caribbean culinary traditions originated with intuitive or “feel” cooking and the most popular Caribbean dishes have been a product of adaptation -- Daphne Ewing-Chow in Forbes.
Events
  • 10 Nov. -- The Role of Human Rights; How Can Human Rights be Mobilised through the Courts to Tackle Climate Injustice? -- University of Essex
Opportunities

We welcome comments and critiques on the Just Caribbean Updates. You can see the Updates on our website, as well as receive it directly through the mailing list. Thank you for reading.

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