CANOC hosts workshop on Climate Change

The Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees (CANOC), in collaboration with the International Olympic Committee and the Barbados Olympic Association, will from this Wednesday October 4 to Friday, October 6, 2023, will host a three-day workshop, looking at Climate Change.

The workshop, set for the Hilton Hotel in Barbados, will be attended by members of the CANOC Executive Board, CANOC Members, as well as representative from the International Olympic Committee, namely -Sustainability, Olympism 365 and Olympic Solidarity, along with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and Walkers Institute for Regenerative Research and Design (WIRRED).

Facilitating the workshop are Julie Duffus, Senior Manager – Sustainability (IOC), Ben Barrett, Sustainability Consultant (IOC), and Noemie Metais (UNEP).

Among the topics to be discussed are : Introduction to sustainability, Sports for Climate Action, Sports for Nature and Social Development.

And, participants will get a first-hand experience of sustainable development in action via a visit to the Barbados Light & Power Company photo-voltaic solar farm and PEG Farm & Nature Reserve biodynamic farm.

According to a release from CANOC, “The purpose of this dialogue will be to help identify shared sustainability priorities, opportunities and challenges according to the special circumstances facing the countries and territories of the Caribbean… The collaborative Climate Fresk workshop will then teach us the fundamental science behind climate change and empower all of us to take action”.

Expounding on the reasons for the timely intervention by CANOC, the release added, “ Climate change poses a serious threat to all Caribbean nations despite their low contribution to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions… Due to their size and location, Caribbean islands are particularly susceptible to the impacts of climate change as developing economies relying on sectors vulnerable to climate patterns such as tourism, agriculture and fishing. Caribbean nations will be greatly affected by the ongoing rise in sea levels, changes in rain patterns and temperatures, and increasing intensity of natural disasters identified by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)”.