Press Releases

The Association of Caribbean States (ACS), represented by the Director for Disaster Risk Reduction, Environment and the Caribbean Sea, Ana Leticia Ramírez Cuevas, attended the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Latin America and the Caribbean Climate Week 2023, celebrated in Panama City, Panama, from 23-27 October 2023. Director Ramirez delivered a presentation to the Adaptation Committee Event, held on 26 October, in which she addressed the challenges and opportunities in advancing the coherent implementation of adaptation action toward a resilient future.

Her presentation highlighted the vulnerability of the Greater Caribbean countries to climate change despite their historically low greenhouse gas emissions, how the region's societies and economies are closely tied to climate conditions, with various sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, tourism, and energy dependent on specific climatic conditions for their success, and the need for an integrated approach involving governments, international organizations, civil society, development banks, and the private sector is deemed essential to address these adaptation needs effectively.

"In the context of adaptation, forced mobility represents the human dimension of the climate crisis, threatening sustainable development and livelihoods worldwide. By 2050, it is estimated that over 200 million people will be compelled to leave their homes due to climate-related factors", Director Ramírez explained. She continued her presentation by illustrating how the ACS, in close partnership with the United Nations and the World Bank, leads the Greater Caribbean Climate Mobility Initiative (GCCMI) to address this challenge.

The GCCMI seeks to promote a regional vision and a roadmap for addressing climate-related mobility that focuses on the affected people, local solutions, and evidence-based efforts. The initiative aims to enhance the resilience and adaptability of communities in climate mobility hotspots in the Greater Caribbean region.

The Director also presented the project Impact Assessment of Climate Change on the Sandy Shorelines of the Caribbean: Alternatives for its Control and Resilience. This project executed by the ACS, in partnership with the Korean Institute of Ocean Science (KIOST) and the Korean Cooperation Agency (KOICA), seeks to improve the resilience of coastal communities to climate change and sea level rise through the establishment of a regional erosion monitoring network and the sharing of beach rehabilitation, observation and preservation best practices.