A large wind farm of turbines on the flat landscape of California. Credit: Climate kcdsTM

By Umar Manzoor Shah
SRINAGAR, India & BELÉM, Brazil, Nov 6 2025 (IPS)

A decade has passed since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, and a United Nations synthesis report released ahead of COP30 in Belém shows that “Parties are bending their combined emission curve further downwards, but still not quickly enough.”

The report, compiled by the UNFCCC secretariat, assesses 64 new nationally determined contributions (NDCs) submitted by Parties between January 2024 and September 2025, covering about 30 percent of global emissions in 2019.

Bruce Douglas, an expert on renewable energy and electrification and CEO of the Global Renewables Alliance (GRA), in an exclusive interview with IPS, said that it is encouraging to see the momentum in the latest NDCs and government targets, which are more ambitious and implementable than previous rounds.

“However, we’re seeing even greater acceleration in the real economy, where renewables hit a record 582 GW of new capacity last year, so governments need to catch up with private sector ambition. But let’s be clear: to have a chance of achieving the tripling renewable energy goal and 1.5°C pathway, the world needs to add roughly 1,100 GW every year to 2030. The direction is right, but the pace must double. We need particular focus in emerging economies, where finance still isn’t flowing at anywhere near the scale required.”

Bruce Douglas, CEO of the Global Renewables Alliance (GRA). Credit: GRA

Douglas added that there is a real appetite in countries around the world to decarbonize at pace, but most developing country NDCs are conditional on financing, so this is the crucial challenge to address.

He said that renewable energy projects are also being held back by predictable bottlenecks—slow permitting, grid constraints, and the high cost of capital in emerging markets.

“These are fixable. We know the solutions: faster permitting, predictable auctions, and investment in grids and storage. But above all, we need access to affordable finance. Investors are ready—governments and MDBs must create the certainty to unlock it,” Douglas said.

A Decade of Progress—But Not Enough

Ten years after Paris, the report acknowledges “new indications of real and increasing progress on action to address climate change through national efforts underpinned by global cooperation.” According to the executive summary, Parties are setting out new national climate targets and plans to achieve them that differ in pace and scale from any that have come before. However, while “Parties are bending their combined emission curve further downwards, they are still not doing it quickly enough,” the report warns.

The urgency for accelerated action is clear.

“It remains evident that major acceleration is still needed in terms of delivering faster and deeper emission reductions and ensuring that the vast benefits of strong climate action reach all countries and peoples,” the summary states.

“We have seen extraordinary renewable growth over the past two decades, and markets are often moving faster than governments, but the gap between targets and deployment continues to grow. We no longer have time for pledges; now is the time for progress. What matters most is visibility: real project pipelines, clear timelines, and bankable frameworks that turn ambition into megawatts. That’s what COP30 should deliver—a clear signal that we are in the era of implementation,” Douglas said.

Economy-Wide Targets, Alignment with Global Stocktake

A notable improvement in the new NDCs is their increased comprehensiveness. The report highlights, “The new NDCs show a progression in terms of quality, credibility and economic coverage, with 89 percent of Parties communicating economy-wide targets (compared with 81 percent in their previous NDCs).”

The parties have also responded to the outcomes of the first global stocktake (GST).

“Eighty eight percent of Parties indicated that their NDCs were informed by the outcomes of the GST and 80 per cent specifying how.” This signals an increasing willingness to align national climate planning with global science and ambition.

Douglas said that the first Global Stocktake was a wake-up call—and it worked to catalyze the focus on the 3x renewables target.

“Now COP30 must translate that momentum into measurable delivery: reaffirming the goal to triple renewables, delivering major finance signals for grids and storage and setting ambitious short-term renewable goals in the next NDC round.”

Projected range of greenhouse gas emission levels for the Parties that have submitted 2035 targets according to their new nationally determined contributions, with or without Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry (LULCF). Credit: UN Climate Change

Emissions on a Downward Trajectory—But Short of 1.5°C

The report analyzes the projected impact of these NDCs on greenhouse gas emissions. “Collectively, the new NDCs show a reduction in projected emissions of 17 (11–24) percent below the 2019 level,” it finds. Full implementation of all new NDCs, including conditional elements, “is estimated to bring the total GHG emission level of the relevant group of Parties down to 12.3 (12.0–12.7) Gt CO₂ eq by 2035, which would be 19–24 percent below the 2019 level.”

The report cautions, however, that “the scale of the total emission reduction expected to be achieved by the group of Parties… falls short of what is necessary according to the IPCC ranges.” According to the latest IPCC synthesis, “GHG emission reductions will have to be reduced by 60 (49–77) percent by 2035 relative to the 2019 level” to limit warming to 1.5°C.

Holistic Approaches and Sectoral Progress

The report identifies a “whole-of-economy, whole-of-society approach” as “an increasingly core pillar of ensuring economic stability and growth, jobs, health, and energy security and affordability, among many other policy imperatives, in countries.”

Mitigation and adaptation are increasingly integrated.

“All NDCs go beyond mitigation to include elements, inter alia, on adaptation, finance, technology transfer, capacity-building and addressing loss and damage, reflecting the comprehensive scope of the Paris Agreement.

Adaptation is more prominent than ever, with “73 percent of the new NDCs including an adaptation component.”

Douglas said that the power sector is leading the charge—solar is on track; what is needed is to rapidly accelerate wind, geothermal, hydropower, grids, and storage to keep up.

He said that electrifying transport, heating and harder-to-abate industry sectors are next in line.

“We’re seeing promising clean-industry pilots and early electrification, but they need clear policy frameworks to scale. Every sector must move faster: we need to electrify everything that can be electrified—with renewable energy as the foundation.”

Just Transition and Social Inclusion

The concept of just transition is gaining ground.

“A total of 70 percent of Parties considered just transition in preparing their new NDCs and the majority of those Parties plan to integrate consideration of just transition into NDC implementation,” the report notes. “Parties contextualized just transition as helping to ensure that the shift to low-carbon, climate-resilient economies does not exacerbate existing or create new inequalities in societies, thus enabling climate action that is socially inclusive and economically empowering.”

Forests, Oceans, and Nature-Based Solutions

Protecting natural sinks remains a major topic. “Parties have integrated forest measures into economy-wide mitigation targets and mentioned forest-specific contributions and indicators in their new NDCs.” The synthesis highlights “international collaboration and REDD+ results-based payments as keys to mitigation in the forest sector, while noting synergies with achieving adaptation and biodiversity objectives.”

Ocean-based climate action is also rising. “Parties reported a significant increase in ocean-based climate action compared with the previous NDCs, with 78 percent of Parties including in the new NDCs at least one explicit reference to the ocean—an increase of 39 percent.”

Finance, Technology, and Capacity-Building: The Implementation Challenge

Finance remains a central challenge to ambition.

“A total of 88 percent of Parties provided information on the finance required to implement activities in line with their NDCs, with 75 percent characterizing finance in terms of support needed,” the report notes. Parties reported “a total cost in the range of USD 1,970.8–1,975.0 billion in aggregate… comprising USD 1,073.88–1,074.00 billion identified as support needed from international sources.”

Technology and capacity-building are also highlighted as key enablers. “A total of 97 percent of Parties provided information on technology development and transfer… 84 percent of Parties referenced capacity-building in varying detail, with 31 percent of those Parties discussing it in sections on means of implementation or capacity-building.”

Inclusion of Gender, Youth, and Indigenous Peoples

The new NDCs reflect a growing focus on social inclusion and empowerment. “Gender integration into NDCs is advancing, with Parties increasingly considering gender to promote inclusive and effective climate action. In their new NDCs, 89 percent of Parties provided information related to gender and 80 percent affirmed that they will take gender into account in implementing the NDCs.”

The report further notes, “It is the first time that a section on children and youth has featured in the NDC synthesis report. A total of 88 percent of Parties in their new NDCs… included information, generally more clearly and in more detail than previously, reflecting a stronger commitment to meaningful inclusion, on how children and youth have been or will be considered in NDC development and implementation.”

Similarly, “A total of 72 percent of Parties reported an increased focus on the vital role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in climate adaptation and mitigation, compared with 66 percent previously.”

International Cooperation and Voluntary Efforts

The synthesis report highlights the indispensability of international cooperation. “International cooperation was emphasized as critical for mobilizing resources and bridging the gap between NDC ambition and implementation by 97 percent of Parties.” The report reads further, “Parties described their engagement with international partners to promote effective and inclusive climate action through voluntary cooperation initiatives, regional collaboration and sectoral activities such as energy transition.”

Despite progress, the report issues a warning.

“With their GHG emissions in 2035 on average estimated to be 17 (11–24) percent below their 2019 level… the scale of the total emission reduction expected to be achieved by the group of Parties… falls short of what is necessary according to the IPCC ranges.” “Major acceleration is still needed in terms of delivering faster and deeper emission reductions and ensuring that the vast benefits of strong climate action reach all countries and peoples.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

This feature is published with the support of Open Society Foundations.

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Excerpt:

View of a solar power plant in Santa Marta, a favela or shantytown in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. One of the tentative commitments of COP28, to be held Nov. 30-Dec. 12 in Dubai, seeks to triple the growth of installed renewable energy capacity. CREDIT: Mario Osava / IPS

By Emilio Godoy
MEXICO CITY, Nov 27 2023 (IPS)

Throughout 2023, Latin America has suffered heat waves, long, intense droughts, destructive floods and devastating hurricanes – phenomena related to the effects of a climate crisis derived mostly from the burning of fossil fuels.

Against this backdrop, the region will attend the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to be held Nov. 30-Dec. 12 in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The region is bringing inadequate climate plans to address these phenomena and, at the same time, will voice demands for the international community to combat them.

Miriam García, associate director of Policy Engagement at the non-governmental CDP Latin America, said the mitigation plans are not adequate."There is a very powerful agenda. The key is seeking uniform positions in the global South in terms of mitigation-adaptation-loss and damage." -- Pilar Bueno

COP28 “should define a collective and quantifiable financing goal. To meet the NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution) targets, six trillion dollars are needed,” she told IPS from São Paulo.

As in most of the world, the voluntary NDC climate targets undertaken by Latin America are inadequate or insufficient.

Although most of the region’s nations have plans to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, adapt to the aftermath of the climate emergency and promote renewable energy, they are still tied to the use of oil and gas, which means they fall short when it comes to meeting the challenge.

In the case of Mexico and Argentina, the international platform Climate Action Tracker described their NDCs and mitigation and adaptation measures as “critically insufficient”.

It ranked the plans of Brazil, Chile and Colombia as “insufficient”.

The NDCs are a core part of the Paris Agreement on climate change, adopted in 2015 and in force since 2021, aimed at limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius, considered the minimum indispensable rise to avoid irreversible climate catastrophes and in consequence human disasters.

In the NDCs, nations must establish their 2030 and 2050 GHG emissions reduction targets, taking as a baseline a specific year; a path to achieve those targets; the peak year of their emissions and when they would achieve net zero emissions, absorbing as many gases as they release into the atmosphere.

Transportation is one of the most polluting activities in Latin America. The deployment of electric vehicles is the only one of 42 indicators that has shown progress in reducing carbon emissions. CREDIT: UNEP

Road to disaster

Overall, the Latin American NDCs, which contain net-zero emissions targets (with the exception of Mexico), would lead to global warming of between 2°C and 4°C, resulting in higher emissions.

By that count, GHG emissions from Mexico, the second largest polluter in the region after Brazil, would amount to between 807 million and 831 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), the gas generated by burning fossil fuels and the main cause of the rise in global temperatures, in 2030, without including emissions from land use change, deforestation and forestry.

In the case of Argentina, its emissions, without counting forestry, are projected to grow to 398 million tons of CO2 in 2030, approximately 25 percent above 2010 levels.

Meanwhile, Brazil’s pollutant emissions would reach 1145-1171 million tons in 2030, between 25 and 28 percent above 2005 levels.

Chile would be the only case where greenhouse gases would fall by 13-18 percent compared to 2021, to between 87 million and 104 million tons in 2030. Finally, Colombia would release 199-203 million tons into the atmosphere, 41-44 percent more than in 2010.

Since 2022, 38 countries, including Bolivia, Brazil, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Uruguay, have submitted an update of their NDCs to the UNFCCC Secretariat, while 157 countries have not revised their targets. Eight countries, including Mexico, have set less ambitious targets.

The State of Climate Action 2023 report, produced by several international climate monitoring organizations, found that progress has only been made in the deployment of electric vehicles, one of 42 indicators, leaving the planet far short of the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 degree Celsius temperature rise goal.

States parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change have formed groups that defend common interests in climate negotiations. CREDIT: Wikimedia

Suitcase of wishes

In this contradictory panorama of inadequate policies, unmet goals and financial and technological needs, Latin America is coming to COP28 with a variety of positions.

At the 23rd Meeting of the Forum of Ministers of the Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean, which took place Oct. 24-26 in Panama, the delegations agreed to support the transformation of the international financial system, food for the “loss and damage fund”, the progressive reduction of fossil fuel subsidies, a gender focus and the promotion of renewable energy.

Some of these proposals contained in the final declaration are in line with the priorities chosen by the Emirati presidency of COP28, such as accelerating the energy transition to triple the installed capacity of renewable energy to 11 terawatts (11 trillion watts).

They also agreed to double global annual average energy efficiency by 2030 and to curb methane emissions, which have increased over the past five years and have a greater heat-trapping capacity than CO2.

In addition, COP28 will discuss voluntary commitments on hydrogen adoption, green public procurement from sectors that emit the most pollution, such as the steel industry, the Emirates’ declarations on sustainable agriculture, resilient food systems and climate action and on climate and health.

Pilar Bueno, an academic at Argentina’s National University of Rosario, said Latin America has a substantive role to play in climate negotiations.

“There is a very powerful agenda. The key is seeking uniform positions in the global South in terms of mitigation-adaptation-loss and damage,” she told IPS from Buenos Aires, where she is also a researcher with the government’s National Scientific and Technical Research Council.

Adaptation actions and the scheme to address losses and damage from the effects of the climate crisis are the biggest differences between industrial and developing countries, because those in the South are demanding that the rich North, which has historically created more pollution, foot most of the bill.

The countries of the industrialized North appear to have met three years late the goal of contributing 100 billion dollars per year to the climate fight, which raises concerns about new commitments.

On other issues there are discordant positions within the groups that operate in the negotiations of the governmental delegations at the COPs, according to their specific interests.

For example, the Environmental Integrity Group (EIG), of which Mexico is a member, does not support the abandonment of fossil fuels or coal, one of the hot topics in Dubai.

On the other hand, the High Ambition Coalition (HAC), to which 12 Latin American countries belong, considers “high priority” the elimination of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, the doubling of financing for adaptation, the alignment of NDCs to meet the 1.5 degree target in 2035, peak emissions in 2025 and financial flows that follow the guidelines of the Paris Agreement.

HAC also maintains that the phasing out of fossil fuels and coal, the tripling of renewable energy capacity and improvements in energy efficiency are key.

Meanwhile, the Independent Association of Latin America and the Caribbean (AILAC), made up of eight nations, prioritizes guidelines for fossil fuel phase-out and loss and damage assessment, as well as a mechanism for monitoring accountability regarding commitments.

Finally, the Like-Minded Group, to which six Latin American countries belong, says a high priority is for industrialized countries to achieve the goal of zero carbon and to pay increasing attention to adaptation measures.

María Paz, executive president of the Peruvian non-governmental organization Libélula, said it is imperative for the region to accelerate the implementation of measures.

“We must focus on a roadmap, to know where to go, the stops and the path to those goals. There is a lack of ambition and implementation. We are way behind,” she told IPS from Lima.

As a small island developing state, Saint Lucia is disproportionately vulnerable to external economic shocks and extreme climate-related events that can instantly erase decades of its development gains. A new report by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) states that many countries have strengthened their commitments to the Paris Agreement by “reducing or limiting emissions by 2025 or 2030”, but called for amped-up mitigation pledges. Credit: Desmond Brown/IPS

By Alison Kentish
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 26 2021 (IPS)

Projected reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are falling “far short” of what is required to achieve the targets of the Paris Agreement.

That is according to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which released its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC’s) Scorecard today, Feb 26.

NDC’s are the plans each nation outlines to build resilience to climate change in areas such as mitigation, adaptation and climate financing.  Those plans are critical to fulfilling the goals of the Paris Agreement, in particular, an urgent target of keeping global average temperatures well below 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.

The NDC’s considered in the report makeup 40 percent of Paris Agreement signatories and account for about 30 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2017.

“For limiting global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius, carbon dioxide emissions need to decrease by about 25 percent from the 2010 level by 2030 and reach net zero around 2070,” the report said. “The estimated reductions fall far short of what is required.”

The first NDCs were submitted in 2015 and require updating every 5 years, with increasingly ambitious targets for combating climate change.

The report states that many countries have strengthened their commitments to “reducing or limiting emissions by 2025 or 2030”, but called for amped-up mitigation pledges.

“Deep reductions are required for non-carbon dioxide emissions as well,” it stated, adding that the projections highlight “the need for parties to further strengthen their mitigation commitments under the Paris Agreement”.

Reporting countries registered mitigation measures in industry, agriculture and waste as priorities to achieving their targets. Energy is another pillar of mitigation with renewable energy generation seen as one of the most critical initiatives to providing clean power to populations. Clean energy and a transition to more efficient modes of transport were hallmarks of several NDC’s.

One noted difference between the old and new commitments is a focus on adaptation. There is increased attention to National Adaptation Plans, which complement the Sustainable Development Goals. Food security, disaster risk management, coastal protection and poverty reduction are listed as priority areas in adaptation.

The report also states that some of the countries which submitted renewed NDC’s are aligning their commitments to broader national policy agendas that are based on a transition to sustainable, low-carbon economies. Saint Lucia, in the Caribbean, is doing just that.

Saint Lucia submitted its first NDC’s in 2015 and its renewed pledges in January 2021. That country’s commitments are prefaced with the reminder that as a small island developing state, it is disproportionately vulnerable to external economic shocks and extreme climate-related events that can instantly erase decades of its development gains.

Saint Lucia’s Chief Sustainable Development and Environment Officer Annette Rattigan-Leo told IPS that the country’s renewed commitments are mitigation focused.

“Saint Lucia’s efforts remain within the energy sector, given that this sector by analysis, proves to be the highest emitter of greenhouse gases. The aim, as expressed in the updated NDC, is to reduce emissions in the energy sector by 7 percent by 2030,” she said.

Saint Lucia’s previous commitment was a 2 percent reduction in emissions by 2030. Leo said the updated NDC not only reflects increased ambition, but the country is proud of its focus on gender, children and youth.  Saint Lucia’s Gender Relations Department is developing a national gender equality policy and strategic plan, which includes environmental sustainability and climate change as priority areas. According to the report, countries are embracing gender integration to boost the effectiveness of their climate plans.

The NDC’s also explored finance and implementation. For a world still battling COVID-19, the pandemic was cited by many countries, but it might be too soon for an assessment of its impact on the NDC’s. The report stated that longer-term effects will depend on the duration of pandemic and recovery efforts.

Saint Lucia is confident of achieving its NDC’s despite the pandemic. Rattigan-Leo says with the right investments and partnerships, Saint Lucia can harness resources to sustainably support and achieve its targets.

“Economic recovery efforts around COVID-19 will require strategic partnerships and investments that focus on resilience and green recovery. As such NDC-related initiatives particularly those on renewable energy and energy efficiency are emphasised for pursuit in the next 5 years.”

The UNFCCC’s scorecard is an initial report. It is based on information from 48 NDC’s that represent 75 members of the Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC.

The final version is scheduled for release before the Glasgow Climate talks in November and will contain the most up-to-date information. Data and commitment from some of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters are absent from this report including India and the United States. China, the top emitter, is not represented.

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Excerpt:

In many parts of Dominica, Hurricane Maria razed the greenery, including agricultural cultivation, from the hillside of the mountainous island. Credit: Kenton X. Chance/IPS

By Kenton X. Chance
BRIDGETOWN, Oct 12 2018 (IPS)

If there is one lesson that Dominican Reginald Austrie has learnt from the devastation Hurricane Maria brought to his country last September, it is the need for “resilience, resilience, resilience”.

And it is not just because he is his country’s minister of agriculture.

When the category 5 hurricane made landfall in Dominica, Austrie, then the country’s minister of housing, was weeks away from harvest time at his two-acre farm where he had 800 plantain trees, in addition to yams.

“So, personally, I suffered some loss. But to me, my agriculture, while it is commercial, it’s not really my livelihood,” he told IPS on the sidelines of the 15th Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA), the premier agriculture event in the 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which is taking place in Barbados from Oct. 8 to 12.“For us, our own scientists warned us of the ravages with respect to drought, with respect to the destruction of our reefs, and by extension, our marine life." -- prime minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley.

“I experienced it, I saw it and I know how much it cost me; that I can never recover the cost of production and so I understand what the regular and ordinary farmer is going through, fully dependent on agriculture,” Austrie, who became minister of agriculture three months ago, said of the monster hurricane.

In addition to the destruction of his plantain trees, Hurricane Maria left several landslides on Austrie’s farm when it tore across Dominica, leaving an estimated USD 157 million in damage to the agriculture and fisheries sectors, and total loss and damage amounting to 225 percent of the nation’s GDP.

Austrie is taking steps to reduce the impact of future cyclones, which forecasters say will become more frequent and intense as a result of climate change.

“So now I had to look at terracing, I had to look at the plants I can grow between the terraces to hold up the soil and I have to really look at whether I want to continue doing plantains, whether I want to expand,” he told IPS.

Climate resilience in agriculture and fisheries was a feature at CWA.

The event opened on the day that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said, in its latest report, that limiting global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius above pre-industrialisation levels would require “rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society”.

As part of their advocacy for a legally-binding global climate accord, small island developing states (SIDS) like those in the Caribbean, have been using the mantra “1.5 to stay alive”.

SIDS say capping global temperature rise at 2°C above pre-industrialisation levels — as some developed countries have suggested — would have a catastrophic impact on SIDS.

The IPCC’s latest report says limiting global warming to 1.5°C, compared to 2°C, could go hand in hand with ensuring a more sustainable and equitable society.

“One of the key messages that come out very strongly from this report is that we are already seeing the consequences of 1°C of global warming through more extreme weather, rising sea levels and diminishing Arctic sea ice, among other changes,” said Panmao Zhai, co-chair of IPCC Working Group I.

In an address to delegates at CWA, secretary-general of CARICOM, Irwin LaRocque said the IPCC report supports the findings of Caribbean climate scientists “which showed that we will attain the 1.5°C warmer world much sooner than anticipated — by 2030”.

LaRocque said such as situation will result in much harsher climatic conditions for the Caribbean.

“Worse, the current trend of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, would lead to warming in the range of three degrees centigrade by the end of the century.”

CARICOM continues to advocate for greater ambition in the reduction of greenhouse gases, but must prepare for the worst, he said.

“We, therefore, need to upscale our planning for adapting to that reality,” LaRocque said, even as he noted that the IPCC report corroborates Caribbean scientists’ projections that even a 1.5 degree rise would result in significant impacts on fresh water and agricultural yields.

Further, such a level of warming would cause extreme temperatures, increases in frequency, intensity, and/or amount of heavy precipitation, and an increase in intensity or frequency of droughts.

“To counter that threat, we have been working on a programme along with our international development partners, to improve the resilience of the agriculture sector,” he said.

LaRocque pointed out that CARICOM’s agricultural research agency has been developing climate smart agriculture technologies suitable for agriculture in the region.

“CARDI has recommended identification, storage, sharing and utilisation of climate-ready germplasm of important food crops as one of the best mechanisms for building climate resilience that safeguards food and nutrition security.”

Meanwhile, CARICOM’s newest head of government, prime minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, reminded delegates at the event that in September she told the United Nations General Assembly that the CARICOM region understands that it has been made dispensable “by those who believe that a 2-degree change in temperature is acceptable to the world”.

She told CWA that she did not know then that the IPCC report that came after her speech would paint such a scenario.

Mottley, who was elected to office in May, said, however, that Caribbean nationals should not have been taken by surprise.

“For us, our own scientists warned us of the ravages with respect to drought, with respect to the destruction of our reefs, and by extension, our marine life.

“They warned us, more than 10 years ago. And we have allowed others to determine our advocacy and our voice without, perhaps remembering that phrase from one of the other countries, Jamaica, that ‘We small but we tallawah (feisty)’.”

And while those calls were not headed a decade ago, Hurricane Maria and the other cyclones, including Hurricane Irma, which affected the Caribbean in 2017, have brought them home forcefully.

“One of the things we have learnt is resilience, resilience, resilience…

“Dominica is a mountainous country. We farm on the hillsides. But there are technologies that can now be used to protect your lands from moving. We have to begin using new and innovative technologies,” Austrie told IPS as he reflected on the impact of Hurricane Maria on Dominica.

“And so we believe that while Maria dealt us a blow and nobody wishes for another Maria, it taught us some lessons, which had it was not for Maria, we would have taken for granted. We had adopted a kind of complacent attitude but I believe that Maria really struck us and sent it home that we have to begin to do things differently,” Austrie said.