In 2022 efforts to address the climate crisis need to be redoubled. 2021 has been the 7th consecutive year where the global temperature has been over 1°C above pre-industrial levels. Governments are expected to push forward their plans to achieve the net-zero global target by 2025.
The Caribbean islands are among the 25 most-vulnerable nations in terms of climate-related disasters per capita or land area, and climate change is only expected to worsen this scenario. Only in 2020, there were 13 hurricanes in the Atlantic, second highest on record. In addition to human lives losses, these disasters take a deep toll on economic growth: in 2019, hurricane Dorian caused in the Bahamas approximately US$2.5 billion in losses, while in 2017, Maria, caused in Dominica almost US$1.0 billion in losses.
As we begin the third year of this zoonotic pandemic, nature action and green finance has become more relevant. A nature positive economy can address the root causes of this health emergency, and unlock $10 trillion of business opportunities by transforming the three economic systems that are responsible for almost 80% of nature loss: food, infrastructure and energy.
The economic and health crisis that we are facing has highlighted the need to strengthen accountability and socio-environmental performance. Currently, there are countless internationally recognized environmental and social codes, standards and good practices that define the rules and objectives to which we must aim. However, the challenge is in their implementation. An Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS) helps organizations incorporate social and environmental objectives into their projects through a set of clearly defined and replicable processes.
Transport has become one of the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the energy sector in Brazil. Data from the Climate Observatory show that the sector accounted for 47% of total energy emissions in 2019, with cargo transport accounting for 40% of this total – emissions come mainly from the burning of fossil fuels, especially gasoline and diesel.
The Glasgow Climate Pact urged Parties and stakeholders “to ensure meaningful youth participation and representation in multilateral, national and local decision-making processes, including under the Convention and the Paris Agreement”, underlining the role of youth and the need to include them in climate change instances at all levels.
Good practices for climate action and development were at the core of the COP26 discussions. Latin America and the Caribbean provide a territory of endless solutions aimed at promoting adaptation and mitigation that both large and small countries can replicate and adapt according to their needs and contexts. Including climate change in development issues is already a priority for many countries that consider environmental impacts in infrastructure investments and in the most vulnerable sectors.
Last November, delegations from 197 countries gathered in Glasgow for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26). During the summit, the IDB Group announced an aspirational target to align all its loans and projects with the Paris Agreement (PA) by the start of 2023.
Barbados is striving as a climate leader and has proven its commitment through its updated NDC and now as part of its journey for a more ambitious sustainable economic development, the country has approved and begun to implement a Blue Economy Roadmap.
Luis has been chosen to represent his community in negotiations with the government and a foreign company that is planning to build a big energy project on their land. On the way home from a recent meeting, he suspected that he was being followed and received messages on social media threatening to make him disappear if he continues to object to the project.