The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) is calling on the global community to support CARICOM’s position advocating for a cap on the world’s temperature rise at 1.5 degrees Centigrade as part of their deliberations during the United Nations Climate Change Conference, taking place in Paris through December 11th. CHTA cites research that points to the devastating consequences for the Caribbean from a two-degree rise in temperature. A report conducted by CARIBSave for CARICOM estimated that a two-degree global temperature increase would significantly damage coastal regions where tourism and industry take place; also, it would result in major displacement of coastal and urban population centers. CARICOM’s Climate Change Task Force pointed to land mass losses for the 20 member states: approximately 1,300-sq kilometers of land or the combined area of Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, Barbados and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. CHTA adds that when one extends the impact to 15 additional Caribbean Basin states that are not part of CARICOM, including Cuba and the Dominican Republic, the regional impact is far greater. CHTA supports the position being advanced by the CARICOM Task Force which calls for a binding agreement by the world’s nations recognizing the special circumstances of the Caribbean and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and is working with its members on several fronts to create a more sustainable tourism industry. With the support of the Inter-American Development Bank, detailed energy efficiency audits have been conducted on over 150 regional hotels.
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