Caribbean Rising Newsletter: A Warm Welcome

A Warm Welcome

Greetings Readers!

Thank you for joining our Climate Analytics Caribbean community. We are delighted to present our inaugural edition of Caribbean Rising, a platform for knowledge-sharing to further connect and empower our region as we strive to achieve a just, climate-safe Caribbean.

Global mean temperatures are rising due to escalating greenhouse gas emissions that are driving accelerated climate impacts and increasing climate risks. In 2024 the world hit and remained at about 1.5C of warming above pre-industrial levels for the first time. This has unleashed unprecedented climate impacts at the global level and will result in making it more difficult and more expensive to stay within the Paris Agreement 1.5C limit and will reduce the effectiveness and range of adaptation options available to vulnerable countries. Overshoot of this limit is becoming increasingly likely with disastrous consequences for every additional increment of warming above 1.5C.

Our Caribbean people have been thrust into the center of a storm we did not cause and forced to cope with worsening climate change impacts due to unabated, unprecedented warming. Grave injustice exists when our people lose their homes and livelihoods due to flooding or rising seas, when countries lose many times their GDPs  due to the losses and damages incurred by ever more severe and unpredictable storms, when our food supplies are debilitated, and the continuity of our cultures hangs in the balance. Our very lives are at risk.

Yet, we are a people rich in our ingenuity, and replete with resilience. As we face this planetary red alert together, we must harness our collective capacity for innovation and leadership to forge our own solutions. Enhanced collaboration and effective implementation are key to the essential work of filling the gap between advocacy and action.

Advancing this bridge-building with scientifically informed resources is central to our mission at Climate Analytics Caribbean. Since 2022 we have supported countries and communities on the frontlines of climate change, with the goals of the Paris Agreement as our north star.

Our work includes spearheading milestone initiatives on issues such as Loss and Damage, Renewable Energy, the Global Stocktake, Adaptation, Climate Governance, and Just Transition.

It is our hope that this Caribbean Rising newsletter can become a trusted compass for analysis and updates on climate change, with perspectives from our valued partners to enrich our discourse. We would like to extend our gratitude to Mr. Philip Julien of Kenesjay Green Ltd. and Mr. Giovanni Buckle of CCREEE for their important contributions to our first edition.

We do hope you find value in this space. We look forward to seeing our seeds of knowledge and camaraderie come to fruition, for the sake of a sustainable future.

Yours Truly,

Rueanna Haynes

Director, Climate Analytics Caribbean

Head of Diplomacy, Climate Analytics