The recent United Nations Climate Change Conference in Brazil, COP30, was attended by 193 countries and 56,000 delegates. With world temperatures reaching record highs and extreme weather becoming the global norm, the stakes couldn’t have been higher.
It’s the “COP of Truth” said host President Lula da Silva, of Brazil, which, along with 79 other countries, advocated for a roadmap to phase out fossil fuels, a plan derailed by resistance from oil-rich nations at the meeting.
T&T and other Caricom countries were well-represented. Minister of Planning and Development, Dr Kennedy Swaratsingh, delivered “a clear and urgent message” that “the climate crisis is no longer a distant threat but a daily and escalating reality” for this country.
Indeed, despite producing only one per cent of global greenhouse gases, Caribbean countries suffer disproportionately from the consequences, including rising sea levels, coastal erosion, and stronger and more frequent storms.
Recently, Melissa, the third-most intense Atlantic hurricane on record, devastated Jamaica before moving on to ravage Cuba and Haiti. And climatologists forecast a most severe Caribbean dry season ahead.
Sea levels are also rising at an accelerated rate due to melting ice. The Arctic and Antarctica together lose 486 billion tonnes of ice every year, adding “hundreds of gigatons of water” to the seas, where levels also rise as oceans expand from heat trapped by greenhouse gases.
The UN reports that sea levels already affect one billion people worldwide, making global action urgent.
Small island developing states (SIDS) are most vulnerable. Several Pacific nations could face annihilation, whilst the Caribbean is “ground zero” in any climate catastrophe, says the United Nations.
Scientists warn that without immediate action, some Caribbean islands could eventually become uninhabitable.
Because of their high coastline-to-land ratio, any rise in sea levels could have an extreme impact on agricultural lands, infrastructure and populations along Caribbean coastlines, where some 70 per cent of the people live and work.
And the most at-risk countries, say experts, include low-lying islands in the Caribbean Basin, like the Bahamas and T&T, with surfaces only a few meters above sea level. Hear that, folks?!
The evidence is there. But in ten wasted years, the last administration did absolutely nothing.
The Atlantic Ocean claimed huge areas of our Manzanilla coast; the north Coast lost “islets and caverns, sand beaches and seafront homes;” disturbing damage continued at Guayaguayare, Los Iros, Quinam and Moruga; higher tides in the Caroni Swamp encroached on private lands; in Granville, over 100 acres were swallowed by the sea in 2019, along with several homes, public roads and private estates; and on the Cedros peninsula, acres fell to the sea over the years with Icacos regularly flooded by high tide, bringing “mosquito misery” to the area.
Villagers on the “battered” southwest peninsula pleaded for government action before “we lose the land.” But nothing was done in ten years!
Other countries took action. Some restored mangroves and wetlands to protect the land from inundation. Others strengthened coastal infrastructure.
Sea walls, surge barriers, water pumps and overflow chambers are among the coastal defences being used in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
Indonesia, currently suffering from severe floods and landslides sweeping Sumatra, will build an $80 billion giant sea-wall, 435 miles long, which could take 20 years to complete.
And Barbados, considered “a best practice model” for the Caribbean by the Inter-American Development Bank, has “built headlands, breakwaters, retaining walls, and walkways and revetments to stabilise its shoreline and control beach erosion based on scientific data and cutting-edge technology.”
Expertise is available. The Netherlands, which has successfully kept the sea at bay for centuries, has offered a model for combating flooding and land loss.
They have built barriers, drainage, and innovative features, like a “water square” with temporary ponds.
Indeed, a partnership between the government of Maldives and Dutch Docklands, a property developer, has produced the Maldives Floating City, an innovative development designed to address rising sea levels, featuring eco-friendly floating homes and infrastructure for approximately 20,000 residents, set to open in 2027.
Under this administration, T&T will take action. In Brazil, Minister Swaratsingh said, “Ambition alone is not enough. We must now move to real on- the-ground implementation to achieve measurable results, resilient communities, restored ecosystems, and strengthened livelihoods.”
And T&T joined with Caricom and other developing countries in underscoring that climate finance remains fundamental and “that developed countries must continue to honour their commitments as a matter of equity and global responsibility.”
The repeated call bore fruit. While COP30 failed to deliver on phasing out fossil fuels, it decided to triple finance for countries to adapt to climate change. Nations would mobilise $1.3 trillion annually by 2035 for climate action, with a specific commitment to double adaptation finance for developing nations by 2025 and triple it by 2035.
This is critical for island nations like T&T and the entire Caribbean facing severe climate impacts. It proves once again that solidarity among developing countries at international fora can ensure favourable outcomes for our vulnerable nations. It was a win for unity at COP 30.
