The potential economic impact of Climate Change on Caricom countries is estimated at between US$ 1.4 million to US$ 9 million, with the greatest impact being loss of land, tourism infrastructure, buildings and other infrastructure due to sea level rise.{{more}}

With these issues in mind, the Special Programme for Adaptation to Climate Change (SPACC) Project was launched on Monday October 30 in the Conference room of the Directorate of Grenadines Affairs in Bequia.

The project seeks to support efforts of the participating countries to implement measures to address the impacts of climate change.

Senior Consultant of the World Bank Alejandro Deeb said that the project was one of the quickest projects to be approved by the World Bank, and that St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) must be commended, as its proposal was the only one that reached in before the 90-day deadline set by the bank.

Deeb also commended Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves who he said negotiated the arrangement after the other countries failed to meet the deadline.

Dr Kenrick Leslie, Executive Director of the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) in Belize said that the Caribbean is already experiencing the effects of climate change, as we are having warmer nights, which means using electricity for cooling, furthering our dependence on fossil fuels. He also said that climate change mitigation would mean reducing the amount of green house gases in the atmosphere.

Speaking for Minister of Health and the Environment Dr Douglas Slater who was unable to attend the event, Environmental Consultant Otis Joslyn reiterated that the Government is prepared to address the issues of adapting to climate change and understands that any further delay will only exacerbate the problems, increase the complexity of the situation and in turn increase costs. Joslyn also said that the government understands that it will be cheaper to act now to address the issues. He reinforced Government’s commitment to the SPACC project and other initiatives that will address the impacts of Climate Change at a national level.

The project, valued at US$ 4.25 million is funded by the World Bank’s Global Environmental Fund (GEF) to the tune of US$ 2.1 million, with co-financing of US$ 1.5 million from the three participating countries: Dominica, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines. US$ 0.65 million will come from other donors. (AC)