CDEMA looking at implications of US aid suspension

The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) is in the process of assessing the implications of the United States of America’s (USA) shift in foreign policy, in particular, its aid programme.

US President, Donald Trump’s aggressive foreign policy changes, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Elon Musk leading the charge, has seen the suspension of aid from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Musk who heads a new agency- the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has referred to the initiative that has helped millions of people worldwide as a “criminal organization” declaring that it was “time for it to die”.

Executive Director of CDEMA, Elizabeth Riley speaking in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) this week stressed that the shifting foreign policy position of the US government has implications for SVG’s and other regional countries’ natural disaster readiness.

“I will say at the outset that our understanding of the implications is evolving as serious statements or orders are shared with the public on a daily basis, and therefore we are in the process of assessing those full implications,” Riley said last Monday, February 10, 2025 at the opening of a three-day National After-Action Review (AAR) forum which was being held at the Holiday Day Inn and Suites in Diamond to assess the country’s overall response to Hurricane Beryl.

Riley noted that the financial, and some other areas of support, including technical support available previously through USA partnerships, may now not hold true for the immediate future.

“…but what I know is absolutely certain is that the Caribbean must reaffirm its commitment to self-reliance through strengthening of our national level capabilities or regional partnerships, and by pooling our resources to enhance our capacity to respond effectively to crises,” Riley stated.

She said there are several planned regional consultations coming up and CDEMA is harnessing information from participating states, to be in a position to give a better picture of what are the real implications of the suspension of US aid, but more importantly, how the region will come together to mitigate them.

The CDEMA head noted that the category five Hurricane Beryl was a manifestation of the ever-evolving definition of unprecedented cyclones fuelled by climate change.

Regional leaders have longed argued that Caribbean nations are feeling significant negative impacts of climate change, a phenomenon that the region has not contributed to.

According to an analysis by InfluenceMap, which is recorded in its Carbon Majors Database, the 57 companies that unleashed 80 per cent of global carbon emissions between 2016 and 2022 include Western petroleum multinationals like Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP, and Chevron, as well as government-run titans and investor-owned companies.

Another statistic says about one hundred companies are responsible for more than 70 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and that since 1988, ExxonMobil, Shell, BP and Chevron, with their combined emissions alone, totalled nearly 7 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions.

Riley said a resilient Caribbean starts with resilient national systems, and how we can enhance preparedness, response and recovery plans to better protect our people, livelihoods, and particularly those in vulnerable communities is very important.