#1point5toStayAlive Caribbean Climate Matters!

COP25, what could the Caribbean expect, what are we fighting for?

COP25 comes at a crucial year for ambition. After COP24 delivered the “rule book” for the Paris Agreement, now called the Katowice Climate Package, a number of important questions remain open which countries have to resolve at this COP 25 in order to create the conditions for a successful COP26 in 2020.

In spite of the strategic importance of this COP, expectations are being managed in the light of the prevailing challenging global context, created in large part by the imminent withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement

Yes, this year’s conference is very much about preparing for next year, as 2020 will be a key year for ambition: according to COP Decision 1/CP.21, countries must submit new or updated NDCs by 2020, “at least 9 to 12 months in advance of the relevant session of the Conference of the Parties”. Parties are also invited to submit long-term strategies by 2020. The level of ambition of the new submitted NDCs will determine whether the world will keep the average global temperature rise under 1.5°C. According to the latest Emissions Gap Report 2019 by UNEP, total greenhouse gas emissions have risen by 1.5 percent per year over the past decade, and even if all current commitments made under the Paris Agreement were implemented, global temperatures would rise by 3.2°C. According to current trends, countries are on track to extract 120% more oil, gas and coal in 2030, as shown by the UNEP Production Gap Report. Thus, COP25 has the important task of ensuring that the world gets on track to deliver a dramatic increase in its ambition under the Paris Agreement.

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The IPCC's Global Warming of 1.5 ºC Special Report

Read the IPCC's 2018 Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 ºC here

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Saudi Arabia, the US, Kuwait and Russia wanted the final statement to merely “note” the UN science report on the effects of 1.5C rise in the global temperature. But a call that started with the alliance of small island states pushed to “welcome” the findings. - Katowice brief: Saturday night drama, Climate Home News

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Science Group Deeply Alarmed by Efforts to Downplay IPCC Special Report at COP24 - Union of Concerned Scientists

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An Urgent Call to Artists Worldwide

History will most likely – and hopefully – remember this 20 September 2019 as the day when the fight for climate justice finally took centre stage, when thanks to courageous and visionary young people it was no longer possible to ignore the fact that climate change is an existential threat that must be taken very seriously.

On this occasion, and while hundreds of thousands of people – mainly students, but joined by their parents, by trade unionists, media workers, people from all walks of life – marched through the streets of places as far apart as Sydney, Nairobi, Delhi or London, Saint Lucian poet, dramatist and activist Kendel Hippolyte once again issued his call for artists throughout the world to add their voice to the cry for climate justice.

: Category: Messengers

Earth day 2019: 1.5 IS STILL ALIVE!

Earth Day, 22 April 2019. As part of the #1point5toStayAlive Campaign that supports Caribbean and other vulnerable countries in the fight against climate change, Panos Caribbean has produced a new theme song, with lyrics by Saint Lucian poet and dramatist Kendel Hippolyte and music by musician and humanitarian Taj Weekes, who coordinated the production on behalf of Panos Caribbean.

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Climate Change is a Gender Issue

This video is part of a series of videos produced by Panos Caribbean, in the context of COP24, to highlight the human and social justice dimensions of climate change. It focuses on the relationship between gender and climate change, and looks in particular at the impacts of climate change on women and men, at the role of women in responding to these impacts, and at the contribution of women to the global fight for climate justice.

It features 4 Caribbean heroines in the global fight against climate change: Ambassador Dessima M. Williams, former Chair of AOSIS 2009-2011; UnaMay Gordon, Director of the Climate Change Division for the Government of Jamaica; Judith Wedderburn, Gender & Development Practitioner; and Dizzanne Billy, climate activist with the Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN).

: Category: Messengers

Gender Matters! - UnaMay Gordon - COP24 - #1point5toStayAlive

UnaMay Gordon, Director of the Climate Change Division for the Government of Jamaica, tells us how policies must consider gender when they are crafted.