- As the world marks 10 years since the Paris Agreement, CARICOM warns that global pledges still fall short of the 1.5°C goal and calls for COP30 in Belém to be a decisive moment for climate ambition.
- The bloc emphasizes fast-tracking adaptation, scaling up climate finance, and honoring the polluter-pays principle to ensure equity for small island developing states (SIDS).
- CARICOM’s Secretary-General urges negotiators to “speak our truth,” push for direct access to funds, and remind the world that the Caribbean—though least responsible—is on the frontlines of the climate crisis.
By Marco Lopez
CARICOM is calling for renewed action on global climate goals on the heels of COP30, and as it celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement. In a release by the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, they shared their disappointment that the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) announced do not align with the 1.5°C pathways. Yet, the regional bloc is poised and prepared to work toward COP30 in Belém, calling the meeting a “decision moment for ambition.”
Fast-tracking the global goal on adaptation and delivering scaled-up financing are at the top of the agenda for CARICOM.
The release states that the region will “support efforts to ensure that the Belém COP is a moment of unity and determination—a point where the world moves from pledges to performance, from ambition to implementation.”
The region urges the world to act, taking into account the special circumstances of small island developing states (SIDS), and underscores that action must be guided by science, human rights, and intergenerational justice.
“We affirm that the polluter-pays principle is a cornerstone of a just global climate response. We recall the adoption of the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG) at COP29 and look forward to the ‘Baku to Belém Roadmap,’ which should help guide the achievement of a minimum scale of 1.3 trillion dollars annually,” the declaration states.
The goal must be met primarily through public, grant-based, and highly concessional finance, the declaration adds.
In an address to ministers responsible for the environment, CARICOM Secretary-General Dr. Carla Barnett called on negotiators to “speak our truth” at COP30. Dr. Barnett advised that CARICOM’s position must be informed by robust technical analysis and grounded in regional realities.
The onslaught of Hurricane Melissa on Jamaica, the island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Cuba, and Bermuda is a stark reminder of the climate realities of the Caribbean.
“We must always remind the world, lest they forget, CARICOM stands at the frontline of the climate crisis, contributing less than 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet bearing a disproportionate share of its impact,” Dr. Barnett said in her address.
Adaptation and Loss and Damage goals of the region continue to lag behind due to inaccessible, fragmented, and slowly distributed finance. Dr. Barnett noted that climate finance remains the cornerstone of advocacy, and while global pledges have increased, contributions have lagged behind.
“Therefore, at COP30, CARICOM must continue to demand: a scaled-up and simplified Loss and Damage Fund, with direct access modalities for SIDS; a robust New Collective Quantified Goal that reflects the real cost of climate action and includes sub-targets for adaptation and resilience, and that is implementable; reform of multilateral climate finance architecture to ensure equity, transparency, and responsiveness to SIDS’ needs; and recognition of SIDS’ unique vulnerabilities in climate finance eligibility criteria,” Dr. Barnett said.
She also called for greater integration of biodiversity and climate agendas.
“We must also press for scaled-up support for ecosystem-based adaptation and community-led conservation.”
She noted, most importantly, that we “must never forget that as long as the developed world does not meaningfully accept their responsibility for generating the largest portion of the greenhouse gases that are the source of global warming and climate change, our fight to survive will continue.”
The 30th United Nations Climate Conference (COP30) will run from 6–21 November 2025 in Belém, Brazil. COP30 will focus on the efforts needed to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5°C, the presentation of new national action plans (NDCs), and the progress on finance pledges made at COP29.
