Hey #YugenCommunity and welcome to another week on the forum!
Today we will be talking about the 3 C’s: Climate Change, COVID-19 and the Caribbean.
Within the last decade, the negative effects of climate change have become more visible with many countries experiencing odd patterns of weather such as increased heat waves in European countries, flooding in the city of Venice, increased periods of droughts worldwide as well as shorter yet heavier periods of rain.
While climate change does not discriminate against the status of one’s country or its location on Earth, Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which include the islands of the Caribbean, tend to suffer more dire consequences of the changing climate due to increased vulnerability (of being surrounded by water and relatively small land masses) to the lack of sufficient resources to deal with such changes.
Then, with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic which has led to massive levels of unemployment worldwide, the Caribbean faces a greater challenge of mitigating the effects of climate change on their respective territories along with adapting to the changes brought about by this pandemic.
For Caribbean territories that are heavily dependent on tourism as a source of income, climate change and COVID-19 presents the ultimate challenge as rising sea levels are resulting in the erosion of coastal areas and the pandemic has resulted in the closure of many countries’ borders to curb the spread of the disease as well as restricted travel to various countries.
So I’d like to get your opinion on today’s topic. What suggestions would you give to the leaders of the Caribbean to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change in the region? Also, what suggestions would you give them to adapt to the effects of the pandemic?
-Daniella K
