Inter-American Development Bank
facebook
twitter
youtube
linkedin
instagram
Abierto al públicoBeyond BordersCaribbean Development TrendsCiudades SosteniblesEnergía para el FuturoEnfoque EducaciónFactor TrabajoGente SaludableGestión fiscalGobernarteIdeas MatterIdeas que CuentanIdeaçãoImpactoIndustrias CreativasLa Maleta AbiertaMoviliblogMás Allá de las FronterasNegocios SosteniblesPrimeros PasosPuntos sobre la iSeguridad CiudadanaSostenibilidadVolvamos a la fuente¿Y si hablamos de igualdad?Home
Citizen Security and Justice Creative Industries Development Effectiveness Early Childhood Development Education Energy Envirnment. Climate Change and Safeguards Fiscal policy and management Gender and Diversity Health Labor and pensions Open Knowledge Public management Science, Technology and Innovation  Trade and Regional Integration Urban Development and Housing Water and Sanitation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Sostenibilidad

Just another web-blogs Sites site

  • HOME
  • CATEGORIES
    • Agriculture and Food Security
    • Climate change
    • Ecosystems and Biodiversity
    • Environmental and Social Safeguards
    • Infrastructure and Sustainable Landscapes
    • Institutionality
    • Responsible Production and Consumption
  • Authors
  • English

How is climate change impacting small islands in the Caribbean?

November 10, 2021 por Jennifer Doherty-Bigara - Andrea Garcia Salinas Leave a Comment


“A 2-degree Celsius rise in global temperature would be a ‘death sentence’ for island and coastal communities”, Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley said during a powerful speech at the World Leaders Summit on the second day of the 26th UN climate summit (COP26) in Glasgow.

Mottley highlighted how failure to provide critical climate finance to small island developing states (SIDS) at the frontline of climate change is measured in the lives and livelihoods of their communities. She urged world leaders to increase ambitions and “try harder”.

Although some of the least contributors to the climate crisis, the SIDS are particularly vulnerable to its impacts and face unique challenges due to their size, location and exposure to natural hazards. The worsening impacts of climate change could result in nation islands becoming uninhabitable. In the Caribbean, the increase of global temperatures would result in longer dry seasons, warmer temperatures and sea-level rise.

The science behind Mottey’s statement is clear. Here are some key notes from the latest 6th IPCC Assessment report on how climate change is impacting the Caribbean:

Changes in precipitation:

  • There has been a decrease in rainfall during boreal summer in the Caribbean and will likely continue in coming decades.
  • Fewer but more intense tropical cyclones are projected starting from a 2°C global warming levels, causing extreme precipitation leading to flooding in the small islands has been attributed in part to tropical cyclones, as well as being influenced by ENSO.
  • Observed and projected rainfall trends vary spatially across the Small Islands, and there is a lack of evidence showing changes in heavy precipitation overall, for example increases in extreme precipitation have been observed in Tobago from 1985–2015 but it is not a uniform observation.
    • Higher evapotranspiration can be expected under a warming climate and can partially offset future increases or amplify future reductions in rainfall resulting in increased aridity as well as more severe agricultural and ecological drought in Small Islands.

Warmer temperatures:

  • Most Small Islands have warmed over the period of instrumental records, and further increases are foreseen, a synonym of an increase heat stress.
    • An increasing trend in the maximum daytime heat index is also noted in the Caribbean during the 1980–2014 period, as well as more extreme heat events since 1991.
    • Warm spell conditions will occur up to half the year in the Caribbean at 1.5°C GWL with an additional 70 days at 2°C, with livestock temperature-humidity tolerance thresholds increasingly surpassed.

Sea level rise:

  • Continued relative sea level rise is very likely in the ocean around Small Islands and, along with storm surges and waves, will exacerbate coastal inundation with the potential to increase saltwater intrusion into aquifers in small islands. Shoreline retreat is projected along sandy coasts of most small islands.
    • Mean Relative Sea Level Rise projections vary widely, from 0.4 m–0.6 m under SSP1-RCP2.6 to 0.7 m–1.6m under SSP5-RCP8.5 for 2081–2100 relative to 1995–2014.
    • In Caribbean islands, sandy shorelines are projected to retreat by about 80 m by 2050 and more than 100m by 2100.

On this last point, it is important to understand that sensitivity of small islands and coastal areas to increased sea level differs between emission scenarios and regionally, which is why SIDS require the support for local processes to generate projections of sea level influences at local scales.

How is the IDB supporting small islands in the Caribbean?

As part of the IDB’s Vision 2025 to promote a sustainable recovery in the region, the Bank is supporting SIDS in the region in a variety of ways and looks forward to innovating based on country demand for a more resilient Caribbean. Some examples here:

  • The IDB recently joined the Alliance for Hydromet Development with the World Meteorological Organization which will foster access  to multi-hazard early warning systems, climate services, and underdeveloped data collection measures with a specific focus in the Caribbean region.
  • In the Bahamas, will boost resilient and inclusive growth to promote business continuity and competitiveness of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) as well as their Blue Economy environmental resiliency. The IDB is supporting these efforts with a $140 million loan.
  • The Build Forward Initiative is $3.5 billion multi-year program to help Caribbean countries achieve a sustainable recovery. The initiative aims to provide advisory services and work with countries to implement national investment plans, project banks and project prototypes. It will also provide better infrastructure services and technological advances for all citizens.

COP26 must provide a bold answer to loss and damage. Quoting once more Prime Minister Mottley, “Code Red”, an increase of 1.5C degrees still implies the disappearance of land which is in fact a threat to communities. Bold and concrete action cannot wait.

Further reading:

Can the Blue Economy spark a sustainable and inclusive recovery in the Caribbean?

The Caribbean can make waves with a blue ocean economy

Photo: Adobe Stock


Filed Under: Climate change Tagged With: sustainable recovery

Jennifer Doherty-Bigara

Jennifer Doherty-Bigara is a policy advisor and climate change specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank, based in the country office of Barbados. With over ten years of experience in the sustainability agenda, she has mainly focused on climate governance and national and local climate change policies (NDCs, LTS, SDGs), fiscal policy and green budgeting, climate finance and long-term planning exercises with an adaptation approach. Jennifer has gained analytical and operational knowledge advising governments through the coordination of the NDC Invest Platform and afterwards mainstreaming climate change considerations in the IDB portfolio of Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay, ensuring the design and implementation of sustainable development projects. She also gained key insights as an external appointee in the Agence Française de Developpement (AFD), coordination the efforts of the Adapt ‘Action Platform in the Gulf of Guinea and the Indian Ocean. She has also worked on climate finance and coordinated fundraising efforts as part of the SECCI Funds, ACL, PROADAPT, and bilateral donations. Jennifer holds a master´s in International Development Policy from the McCourt School of Public Policy (MSPP), University of Georgetown and a Master’s in International Affairs from Sciences Po Toulouse. Follow Jennifer on Twitter: @jdohertybigara @jdohertybigara

Andrea Garcia Salinas

Andrea specializes in strategic communication on climate change, development, and migration. Previously, she worked as a consultant at the IDB Invest’s Advisory Services. Between 2019 and 2022, she was part of the IDB's Climate Change Division where she focused on narratives around sustainable recovery, decarbonization, resilience, nature and biodiversity, among others. Her previous work includes managing digital campaigns and reporting UNFCCC summits in Lima, Paris, Marrakech, Bonn, and Katowice. Andrea has also worked with conservation associations in the Peruvian Amazon, the Ministry of Environment in Peru and the UNDP. Andrea holds an MA in International Development, with a concentration in Environment and Migration from PSIA - Sciences Po, a BA in Communication for Development from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, and a certification in Strategic Media Communications from NYU.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Follow Us

Subscribe

SEARCH

Sustainability

This blog is a space to reflect about the challenges, opportunities and the progress made by Latin American and Caribbean countries on the path towards the region’s sustainable development.

SIMILAR POSTS

  • Climate Change: A Silent Killer of Trinidad and Tobago’s Economy
  • How can we make Caribbean islands “climate smart”?
  • Ocean resources are key to a sustainable and resilient recovery in Tobago
  • The Caribbean can make waves with a blue ocean economy
  • A Blue Roadmap for Barbados

Footer

Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo
facebook
twitter
youtube
youtube
youtube

Blog posts written by Bank employees:

Copyright © Inter-American Development Bank ("IDB"). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons IGO 3.0 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. (CC-IGO 3.0 BY-NC-ND) license and may be reproduced with attribution to the IDB and for any non-commercial purpose. No derivative work is allowed. Any dispute related to the use of the works of the IDB that cannot be settled amicably shall be submitted to arbitration pursuant to the UNCITRAL rules. The use of the IDB's name for any purpose other than for attribution, and the use of IDB's logo shall be subject to a separate written license agreement between the IDB and the user and is not authorized as part of this CC- IGO license. Note that link provided above includes additional terms and conditions of the license.


For blogs written by external parties:

For questions concerning copyright for authors that are not IADB employees please complete the contact form for this blog.

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IDB, its Board of Directors, or the countries they represent.

Attribution: in addition to giving attribution to the respective author and copyright owner, as appropriate, we would appreciate if you could include a link that remits back the IDB Blogs website.



Privacy Policy

Derechos de autor © 2023 · Magazine Pro en Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo

Aviso Legal

Las opiniones expresadas en estos blogs son las de los autores y no necesariamente reflejan las opiniones del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, sus directivas, la Asamblea de Gobernadores o sus países miembros.

facebook
twitter
youtube
This site uses cookies to optimize functionality and give you the best possible experience. If you continue to navigate this website beyond this page, cookies will be placed on your browser.
To learn more about cookies, click here
x
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT