In light of the catastrophe waiting to happen in Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean by the end of this century, if global temperature is allowed to rise over the agreed 2 oC above pre-industrial levels, activist Joe Issa urges the Caribbean to rally behind a campaign to limit global warming to 1.5 oC instead.
Climate change experts tracking the level of the dangerous greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere and making predictions based on the rate at which it is heating the earth and causing global temperature and sea level to rise, have given a graphic description of what could happen in the region.
“If temperature rises to 2 oC and over, above pre-industrial levels, an area the size of Barbados, Saint-Vincent and the Grenadines, Anguilla and Antigua & Barbuda combined, could disappear from the Caribbean by the end of this century,” they say.
Noting that the region is at risk of losing 1,300 sq. kilometres of land, Issa says “not knowing where means it could be our own coastal of economic and social activities and centers of high population, which is reason enough for supporting the 1point5 to Stay Alive campaign started in St. Lucia and its urgent call to action.”
He adds, “It’s important for us in the Caribbean to recognize the reality of climate change and to do our part in reducing emission of greenhouse gases particularly carbon dioxide,” says Issa, noting that “the less CO2 we emit into the atmosphere, the greater the chance of our low lying areas surviving the rest of this century.”
The Nature Conservancy publication accessed on November 7, 2015 at http://www.nature.org/?intc=nature.tnav, says “climate change is already beginning to transform life on Earth,” noting that “around the globe, seasons are shifting, temperatures are climbing and sea levels are rising.”
“Meanwhile,” it says, “our planet must still supply us – and all living things – with air, water, food and safe places to live,” warning that “if we don’t act now, climate change will rapidly alter the lands and waters we all depend upon for survival, leaving our children and grandchildren with a very different world.”
St Lucia’s Voice newspaper in an article titled, “St. Lucia Initiates Climate Change Campaign: An Urgent Call To Action” published on October 29 and accessed on November 7, 2015 at http://www.thevoiceslu.com/2015/10/st-lucia-initiates-climate-change-campaign/, reported the 1point5 to stay alive campaign and made the shocking predictions about the impact of global warming on the Caribbean.
“This would be disastrous for the region and other small island developing states,” it says, while calling for a fair chance to stay alive and the world to agree on a 1.5oC max rise.
The campaign, a St. Lucian initiative, “is designed to create public participation in and support for the Caribbean’s negotiating position at the December 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris.”
The 1point5 to Stay Alive campaign which began in July is being implemented with the support of PANOS Caribbean and Saint Lucia’s Ministry of Sustainable Development, Energy, Science and Technology. The Media Association of Saint Lucia (MASL) and Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN) are also on board,” The Voice article informs.
Issa notes, “Paris is the last chance for a legally binding agreement that limits global warming to 1.5 oC and ensures that country pledges are consistent with their level of emission and the requirements for sustainability of that goal.”
