Back in May of this year an important meeting for the region took place in Antigua and Barbuda: the United Nations 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The theme was “Charting the Course Towards Resilient Prosperity.”

Jamaica is a “SID.” There is no doubt that is one of the hundreds of SIDS around the world that are confronting specific socio-economic challenges, overshadowed and fueled by the climate crisis.

Because of its location, the Conference was well attended by Caribbean participants, including civil society and grassroots organisations. The Caribbean Climate Justice Alliance (CCJA), supported by the Trinidad-based Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI), is a coalition of regional NGOs, academia and activists with a common goal: to examine climate change through the prism of economic, environmental, and social justice. The CCJA’s Caribbean Climate Justice and Resilience Agenda, formally launched at COP28 in December 2023, prioritises adaptation to the ravages of climate change; loss and damage; climate finance; gender equity and justice; just nature-based solutions; and climate justice and human rights for all generations. You can read it here. CANARI partnered with the Environmental Awareness Group (EAG) in Antigua for a special Civil Society Forum in Antigua on May 29, during the SIDS Conference.

Advocacy is a key factor for the Alliance, and for Caribbean civil society in general – the situation cannot remain static. November’s UN Climate Conference in the oil-rich state of Azerbaijan (COP29) is approaching fast. The voices of the people must be heard, priorities must be established, and we must work extremely hard to implement solutions. We must step things up.

There is way too much at stake. And, as the University of the West Indies-based Jamaican Economy Panel notes in its latest survey following the SIDS Conference, “there is much work ahead” to achieve those elusive UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Jamaica seems to be making little or no progress on many of these.

Here are more details from the United Nations Office and UWI in Jamaica (I cannot find the link to the actual survey discussion, but think it will be posted online shortly):

4^th International SIDS Conference and what it means for Jamaica: Jamaica Economy Panel Responds

September 10, 2024 – KINGSTON, Today, the Jamaica Economy Panel (JEP) publishes its twenty-second survey discussion, on the “Developments from The Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Island Developing States (ABAS) Conference and Implications for Jamaica…” 

Source: Jamaica is a Small Island Developing State: Is it on a path to resilience and climate justice? – Petchary’s Blog