Regional climate champions – Caribbean

The initiative was presented to the regional preparatory meeting of climate change negotiators in St Lucia in February 2018 where it was endorsed by the regional officials present. The project is intended to complement other projects in the region aimed at building knowledge, capacities and engagement in the international negotiations. In its pilot phase it was intended to serve as an interface between in-region activities and international engagement in climate change negotiations to put the Paris Agreement into action. The project is now in its second phase having successfully completed its pilot phase of implementation that ended in May 2018. See more information on activities in the pilot phase here. In its second phase, the Regional Climate Champion initiative will continue and expand on the work undertaken in its pilot phase in the following areas:

• Promoting ambition from the bottom-up within the region by linking non- state actions with existing regional priorities
• Engaging in regional and international fora on the need for greater climate change ambition
• Offering technical support to governments for a consistent approach across processes critical for achieving Paris Agreement goals, specifically in the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) where an offset mechanism has been established and is in its pilot phase; and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) where a programme for addressing greenhouse gas emissions is being developed.
The second phase of the project will be focused on the following three objectives:
• Enhancing the capacity of regional institutions to inform, advise and update on progress in global negotiations on climate change in support of regional advocacy for greater climate change ambition.
• Facilitating information flow in order to support consistent regional positioning on matters related to climate change across related international fora.
• Assisting regional civil society organisations with outreach, coordination and information to facilitate regional coalition building in support of sustaining calls for more ambitious global action on climate change