Addressing Climate Change in the Caribbean: A Toolkit ... - CANARI

Introduction
Why focus on climate change
Climate change is already a part of our reality here in the Caribbean. It is not a future threat.
Scientists have evidence that the Caribbean is getting warmer, hurricane seasons are becoming
more active and storms more intense, and rainfall patterns are shifting. All these changes are linked
to climate change. Climate change is as much a challenge to our communities, livelihoods and
overall wellbeing as unemployment, poverty, HIV/AIDS, or violence. It has been called a threat to
development and a “threat multiplier” because of how it combines with other challenges and
vulnerabilities to “make things that are already a problem worse”. 1
Climate influences the types of buildings we construct, the houses we live in and the clothes we
wear. It shapes ecosystems (ecological systems) and helps determine types of plants and animals
found in a particular location. Climate influences our culture, the types of things we do for fun, and
even our mood. 2 This means that changes in climate can affect how we live, the plants and animals
around us, our health and well-being, and even how we earn our livings. Human and biological
systems are so closely connected that a change in one system has consequences or effects on the
other. Dramatic and long-term changes in climate have the potential to set back and even undo
efforts to create sustainable ways of earning a living, eliminate poverty, protect the natural
environment and improve people’s standard of living.
The Caribbean is on the frontline
Small islands like those of the Caribbean produce less than 1% of the gases in the air that are
responsible for climate change, yet they are among the most vulnerable to its effects. Our islands are
vulnerable to natural hazards because they are so small and the land and sea environments are
closely linked: whatever happens on one affects the other. Climate change is a big threat as many of
its direct effects are environmental. And because most of our islands rely on industries that use the
environment, such as fisheries, tourism, and agriculture, anything that damages our natural
resources also affects our economies and livelihoods.
We can no longer do business as usual
We have to take climate change seriously and we have to understand what it means for us. Climate
change doesn’t mean we will experience new weather conditions, but it does mean that what we
used to think of as unusual in terms of weather conditions is becoming normal. Severe weather, like
1
Huq, S. and C. Pettengell. 2008. The impact of climate change on human security. The Bridge Magazine. Issue 1-10/2008
2
Hulme, M. 2006. Climate change: A statement of science. Tyndall Centre for Climate Research and School of Environmental Science, University of
East Anglia.
Climate Change Community Toolkit/Christian Aid (Caribbean) 1