PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (GINA) -- The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is seeking international support for a new economic model which President Bharrat Jagdeo says is needed to meet the peculiarities of the region.
Backing for the new model is being canvassed and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the heads of several multilateral financial institutions are to join CARICOM leaders in Dominica in March to discuss it, President Jagdeo told reporters here.
Jagdeo, current CARICOM Chairman and head of the regional economic task force addressing the impact of the global economic crisis on the 15-member community, maintains that the model of economic development the region has been pursuing is not sustainable given its peculiarities.
The impact of the global crisis and climate change were the two major issues before Commonwealth leaders at their 20th summit here, the President told reporters late Saturday.
He said the huge debt overhang and massive sums spent to service debt have affected the community’s capacity to intervene in the crisis which has had a major impact on its members.
He noted that the two largest industries in the region – tourism and the financial sector – have been affected and capacity and fiscal space to do anti-cyclical spending has been limited because of the debt overhang.
“There is no way we are going to build a viable medium term economic strategy without a change in the model”, Jagdeo insisted.
He said that CARICOM heads Saturday advocated a deferential approach to a global economic system.
Most of the large countries were speaking about their efforts to support demand at the global level through the G20 and that’s vital for the future and for those countries to pursue free trade as a way of expanding global GDP, he acknowledged.
“But for countries like ours, many of those things would have sometimes a negative impact – the impact of reciprocity and removal of preferences which have led to the destruction of two major industries in the Caribbean – sugar and bananas.”
He said CARICOM has argued that the model that would be viable for the Caribbean would be one that sees debt relief for middle income countries; special and deferential treatment in the global trading system; dedicated instruments from the multilateral financial institutions (MFIs) to target the special vulnerabilities of the region – like a contingent line of credit to deal with hurricanes and other natural disasters which have a systemic impact on their societies.
The new economic model and climate change were the two big issues for the region, he said, adding, “It was important that we advocated for both and that we seek the support of this broad range of countries across the world because this support would be vital when we get to the WTO (World Trade Organisation) or when we take specific measures to address these issues at the boards of the multilateral financial institutions.”
Jagdeo said the President of the World Bank, the Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the UN Secretary will be at the CARICOM intersessional meeting in Dominica in March.
“I hope that with their support plus the political support, particularly from the countries in the G20, we may be able to get some progress in this regard”, he said.
The President chaired a meeting Saturday between CARICOM and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and said he dealt with the impact of the global financial crisis on the Caribbean.
“We asked for support of this model that we intend to pursue”, he announced.
He noted that two current British initiatives are counter to the region’s efforts to develop its crucial financial sector and tourism sectors.
The Air Passenger Duty (APD) implemented by the United Kingdom has had a discriminatory impact on the Caribbean by making it far more expensive for British tourists to visit the Caribbean while it is cheaper for them to go to Hawaii or Vancouver which are almost twice as far from London as Barbados.
Jagdeo said CARICOM asked Brown for a rebranding of the Caribbean and he advised that the community work with the British Chancellor of the Exchequer on this matter.
CARICOM states have also encountered difficulties in many parts of the world on signing the tax information exchange agreement to get off the `grey list’ and urged Brown to help get these countries to move swiftly to resolve those issues, he said.
Some CARICOM members are facing an adverse impact because of being `grey listed’ and some financial institutions have already moved from those jurisdictions.
He stressed that the continuing global crisis is not splitting CARICOM although several member states are in difficulties because of reductions in tourism flows, revenue from the financial sector and remittances from developed countries.
“These are real problems and while we have to deal with the long term structural issues – debt and its future servicing, the structure of our economies -- we also have an immediate problem of finding enough cash resources to meet the day-to-day needs of the countries.”
“We have to find a source of bilateral funding. Given what’s happening in the world and the difficulties facing many countries, the only access available is through the multilateral financial institutions and many countries did not have any recourse but to turn to these institutions”, he said.
“We have decided to act in concert and I think there’s a greater sense of urgency”, the President added.
He said CARICOM leaders at one time were too complacent and felt that the current crisis was inevitable – whether there was a global recession or not -- because some were accumulating unsustainable levels of debt and using a larger share of the recurring budget to service that debt.
Total factor productivity in the economies was also declining for several years, he said, adding that this was unsustainable in itself.
November 30, 2009
caribbeannetnews
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Showing posts with label climate change Caribbean. Show all posts
Showing posts with label climate change Caribbean. Show all posts
Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Rising sea levels threaten Caribbean
By Chris Kraul:
The Colombian city of Cartagena is trying to plan ahead as scientists say cities nearer the equator, where temperatures are already higher, are at greater risk if global warming isn't checked.
Reporting from Cartagena, Colombia - The effect of climate change is anything but hypothetical to retired Colombian naval officer German Alfonso. Just ask him about the time his neighborhood in this historic coastal city became an island.
For five years, Alfonso, 74, has watched tides rise higher and higher in the Boca Grande section of Cartagena. This month, tides briefly inundated the only mainland connection to his neighborhood, a converted sandbar where about 60 high-rise condo and hotel towers have been built in the last decade or so.
"Before, people thought it a normal phenomenon. But we're becoming more conscious that something is going on," Alfonso said. "If the sea keeps rising, traffic could just collapse."
According to a recently updated World Bank study on climate change in Latam, Alfonso and his neighbors have reason to be concerned. Not only are the effects of global warming more evident in Latin American coastal cities, the report says, but the phenomenon could worsen in coming decades because sea levels will rise highest near the equator.
Colombian naval Capt. Julian Reyna, a member of a government task force monitoring climate change, said the sea level around Cartagena, renowned for its Spanish colonial fortifications and beaches, has risen as much as one-eighth of an inch each year over the last decade, an increase that scientists expect to accelerate in coming years.
According to some scenarios that the authors of the World Bank study say are not that far-fetched, Cartagena and the rest of the Caribbean coastal zone could see sea levels rising as much as 2 feet, possible more, by the end of the century. Even at the lower end of projections, parts of this city would be knee-deep in sea water.
One of the authors, climatologist Walter Vergara, cautions that the projections are based on trends and factors that could change, buthe is worried that Colombia's entire Caribbean coastal zone could see relocations of urban centers. Other Latin and Caribbean cities especially at risk include Veracruz, Mexico; Georgetown, Guyana; and Guayaquil, Ecuador, he said.
"The projections are based on assumptions generally accepted by the scientific community and do not include the cataclysmic effects of possible advanced ice melting in the Antarctic or Greenland," said co-author economist John Nash.
Even under the most benign of scenarios, Vergara and other scientists are concerned for Colombia's Cienaga Grande, a mangrove marsh covering hundreds of square miles whose ecosystem could die because of increased salinity from higher tides. The forests could disappear and thousands of fishermen may be displaced.
Agriculture in Colombia and other tropical countries is at greater risk than in the United States, Canada and Europe because temperatures are already relatively high in countries near the equator, and increases will be more damaging to growing conditions, Nash said.
Cartagena's chief city planner, Javier Mouthon, said the local government is aware of what could be in store and is making plans beyond immediate effects that include a long-term "adaptation process." That includes new roads and relocating city facilities to avoid permanently flooded zones.
Cartagena is already studying the feasibility of building dikes or collection pools and possibly requiring all construction to have foundations 20 inches higher than currently specified.
"We are quite concerned," Mouthon said. "It's a problem that grows year by year."
Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos has begun convening workshops of coastal governors and mayors to hammer home the possible repercussions of climate change and the need to adjust urban and regional planning accordingly.
Many residents here seem to be only vaguely aware of global warming and its effects. At a new condo tower development called Bahia Grande being built near Alfonso's house, saleswoman Rocio Buelvas said few prospective buyers raise the issue.
"They see it as a problem only for a couple of months of the year," Buelvas said. "I think it will get better once they fix the drainage."
latinamericanpost
The Colombian city of Cartagena is trying to plan ahead as scientists say cities nearer the equator, where temperatures are already higher, are at greater risk if global warming isn't checked.
Reporting from Cartagena, Colombia - The effect of climate change is anything but hypothetical to retired Colombian naval officer German Alfonso. Just ask him about the time his neighborhood in this historic coastal city became an island.
For five years, Alfonso, 74, has watched tides rise higher and higher in the Boca Grande section of Cartagena. This month, tides briefly inundated the only mainland connection to his neighborhood, a converted sandbar where about 60 high-rise condo and hotel towers have been built in the last decade or so.
"Before, people thought it a normal phenomenon. But we're becoming more conscious that something is going on," Alfonso said. "If the sea keeps rising, traffic could just collapse."
According to a recently updated World Bank study on climate change in Latam, Alfonso and his neighbors have reason to be concerned. Not only are the effects of global warming more evident in Latin American coastal cities, the report says, but the phenomenon could worsen in coming decades because sea levels will rise highest near the equator.
Colombian naval Capt. Julian Reyna, a member of a government task force monitoring climate change, said the sea level around Cartagena, renowned for its Spanish colonial fortifications and beaches, has risen as much as one-eighth of an inch each year over the last decade, an increase that scientists expect to accelerate in coming years.
According to some scenarios that the authors of the World Bank study say are not that far-fetched, Cartagena and the rest of the Caribbean coastal zone could see sea levels rising as much as 2 feet, possible more, by the end of the century. Even at the lower end of projections, parts of this city would be knee-deep in sea water.
One of the authors, climatologist Walter Vergara, cautions that the projections are based on trends and factors that could change, buthe is worried that Colombia's entire Caribbean coastal zone could see relocations of urban centers. Other Latin and Caribbean cities especially at risk include Veracruz, Mexico; Georgetown, Guyana; and Guayaquil, Ecuador, he said.
"The projections are based on assumptions generally accepted by the scientific community and do not include the cataclysmic effects of possible advanced ice melting in the Antarctic or Greenland," said co-author economist John Nash.
Even under the most benign of scenarios, Vergara and other scientists are concerned for Colombia's Cienaga Grande, a mangrove marsh covering hundreds of square miles whose ecosystem could die because of increased salinity from higher tides. The forests could disappear and thousands of fishermen may be displaced.
Agriculture in Colombia and other tropical countries is at greater risk than in the United States, Canada and Europe because temperatures are already relatively high in countries near the equator, and increases will be more damaging to growing conditions, Nash said.
Cartagena's chief city planner, Javier Mouthon, said the local government is aware of what could be in store and is making plans beyond immediate effects that include a long-term "adaptation process." That includes new roads and relocating city facilities to avoid permanently flooded zones.
Cartagena is already studying the feasibility of building dikes or collection pools and possibly requiring all construction to have foundations 20 inches higher than currently specified.
"We are quite concerned," Mouthon said. "It's a problem that grows year by year."
Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos has begun convening workshops of coastal governors and mayors to hammer home the possible repercussions of climate change and the need to adjust urban and regional planning accordingly.
Many residents here seem to be only vaguely aware of global warming and its effects. At a new condo tower development called Bahia Grande being built near Alfonso's house, saleswoman Rocio Buelvas said few prospective buyers raise the issue.
"They see it as a problem only for a couple of months of the year," Buelvas said. "I think it will get better once they fix the drainage."
latinamericanpost
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Climate and economic crises taking heavy toll on Caribbean, leaders tell UN
While climate change and the global economic crisis are a challenge for all, they are particularly difficult for the small, island nations of the Caribbean, several leaders from the region told the United Nations General Assembly today. “It is a fact that when global crises occur small vulnerable economies tend to pay a disproportionately high price,” Prime Minister Denzil L. Douglas of Saint Kitts and Nevis said, as he addressed the Assembly’s annual high-level debate.
He pointed out that, in the case of the economic crisis, the circumstances which precipitated the virtual collapse of several financial institutions were not created by small States such as Saint Kitts and Nevis – the smallest nation in the Western Hemisphere.
“Yet, as in the case of climate change, their consequences are forced upon us and we are left to fend for ourselves.”
Despite the recent downturn, small economies like his continue to display resilience and make the necessary sacrifices to sustain themselves, he said.
Saint Kitts and Nevis is investing in its people through education and retraining, and working to attract international investments in critical sectors to generate employment and other business opportunities. “By doing this, we hope to prepare for the future when the global economy eventually rebounds,” said the Prime Minister.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today reaffirmed the UN’s commitment to working with the region, which has been “especially hard-hit” by both the global financial crisis and climate change.
“I am well aware of the heavy toll the global economic crisis is taking on your countries,” he told leaders gathered for a mini-summit on the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). “Oil prices are high, remittances are down, tourism is severely depressed and foreign direct investment has slowed.
“There is talk of recovery – but the impact of the crisis could reverberate for years. Your economies are more fragile than many others,” he said.
The Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Patrick Manning, also highlighted the vulnerabilities of small economies in his address to the Assembly’s debate.
“We of the smaller countries and the developing world have always been the most vulnerable and the worst affected,” he said. “It is happening again… especially in the Southern Hemisphere, the prospects have grown for increase in poverty, unemployment and general slippage in the development process.”
Like many others in the debate, Mr. Manning said that the crisis has made clear the urgent need to reform the global economic system.
“We clearly cannot take our eye off the ball. We must not return to business as usual… We must be very wary of the level of adventurousness in leading financial institutions, which contributed very significantly to driving the world to the edge of an economic precipice, from which we are just starting to pull back.
“We must now capitalize on the opportunity of this crisis and, without delay, reform our international economic system,” he stated, adding that the global architecture must be transformed to take into account the new realities.
Kenneth Baugh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of Jamaica, noted that the consequences of the economic crisis – plunging inflows of financing and investment, weak exports, low commodity prices and diminished aid – are reflected in his country and throughout the CARICOM region.
“Countries like ours now face the daunting challenge of protecting the most vulnerable of their citizens in a responsible and sustainable manner in the context of declining export demand, contraction in services, including tourism, and lower remittances,” he stated.
He added that for the majority of developing countries, the impact of the crisis “will be deep, it will be prolonged and it will be painful.”
26 September 2009
UN News
News Tracker: past stories on this issue:
Assembly President urges Latin America, Caribbean to support economic summit
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