Webinar Recording – COP21 and the Paris Agreement: Implications for the Caribbean

Earlier last month, New Energy Events hosted a webinar on the implications of COP21 and the Paris Agreement on the Caribbean.

The 21st Annual United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties, COP 21, saw the adoption of landmark commitments by the global community to keep global temperature increases below 2 degrees Celsius pre-industrial levels.

Under the auspices of CARICOM, many Caribbean states banded together during the negotiations to acknowledge the severity of current impacts of climate change on the region and the need to mitigate and stem future damage. In 2015 alone, Grenada saw a 300% loss of GDP as the result of one storm and Dominica had to delay drilling on a key geothermal well for the same reason.

While the adoption of the framework is a huge success, is it enough to make a difference for the low-lying, small-island states that advocated for “1.5 to stay alive”? During the COP 21 talks, Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie stated that “for the Bahamas, which has 80 percent of its land mass within one metre of mean sea level, climate change is an existential threat.”

While the adoption of the Paris Agreement at the 21st annual United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is a potential game-changer, is it enough to make a difference for the low-lying, small-island states that advocated for “1.5 to stay alive”? Over the course of the webinar, panelists discuss the following:

– What measures will small-island states need to take to adapt to the inevitable impacts of rising sea levels and increased storm severity? Do they have the capacity – capital and human resources – to implement these measures?

–  Are regional and international development organizations coordinated and constructively engaged?

– What Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to reducing emissions did Caribbean states commit to and how will renewable energy play into attaining these targets?

– What mechanisms/tools – e.g. financing, regulatory, policy – will be most useful to achieving NDCs over the next five years?

View the full webinar below.

COP21 and the Paris Agreement Implications for the Caribbean from New Energy Events on Vimeo.