Climate Change in the Caribbean

Climate change knows no borders. A failure to address climate change today means the costs of that inaction will invariably be passed down to future generations. Perhaps no region in the world faces a graver threat from climate change than the Caribbean, which, despite its small contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions, still stands as one of the most climate-vulnerable regions in the world. Given rising global emissions, scientists expect the effects of natural disasters and sea-level rise to worsen by 2050, putting the livelihoods of people in the Caribbean at significant risk. As new climate-related events inevitably arise, international cooperation will be vital for disaster recovery and resilience. To promote collaboration between key U.S. and Caribbean actors, Global Americans has assembled policymakers, scholars, government officials, and civil society representatives to form a High-Level Working Group on Climate Change in the Caribbean. In addition to publishing a series of reports on the social, political, and economic impacts of climate change in the region, Global Americans will convene a series of public and private roundtables. These conversations will allow policymakers to engage across various issues under the climate change umbrella.

The fight against climate change is at a critical inflection point. Given that climate change will have global impacts, only enduring and coordinated efforts can adequately address the problem. Therefore, this project will provide an ongoing forum where U.S. and Caribbean representatives can collaboratively shape the hemisphere’s agenda on climate change. The project will address a myriad of climate change issues, including––among others––climate finance, climate resilience, illicit economic activities, and the future of the blue economy.

High-Level Working Group On Climate Change in the Caribbean

President Carlos Alvarado Quesada (Costa Rica, Co-Chair) Former President of the Republic of Costa Rica; Professor of Practice of Diplomacy, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
Ine Apapoe (Suriname) Lecturer, Anton de Kom University
Verónica Arias (Ecuador) Executive Director, CC35
Dr. Anthony T. Bryan (Trinidad and Tobago) Non-resident Senior Associate, CSIS
Dr. Samantha Chaitram (Trinidad and Tobago) Lecturer, Trinidad and Tobago Police Training Academy
Amb. Anton Edmunds (St. Lucia) Senior Advisor on Caribbean Affairs, Inter-American Development Bank; Former St. Lucia Ambassador to the United States
Guy Edwards (United Kingdom) PhD Candidate, University of Sussex; Former Senior Consultant, Inter-American Development Bank
Dr. Georges Fauriol (United States) Fellow, Global Americans; Co-chair, Caribbean Policy Consortium
Allison Fedirka (United States) Director of Analysis, Geopolitical Futures
Dr. Richard Feinberg (United States) Member, Global Americans International Advisory Council; Professor Emeritus, University of California, San Diego
Shiloh Fetzek (United States) Senior Fellow, Center for Climate and Security
Leonel Fernández (Dominican Republic) Former President of the Dominican Republic; President, Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo
Amb. Carlos C. Fuller (Belize) Belize Permanent Representative to the United Nations
Ama Francis (Dominica) Climate Displacement Project Strategist, International Refugee Assistance Project
Carlos Gentile (Argentina) Former State Secretary of Climate Change and Sustainable Development; Founding Partner, CICLA Desarrollo Sustentable
John Goedschalk (Suriname) Executive Director, Conservation International-Suriname
Ché Greenidge (Barbados) Executive Director, Barbados Environmental Conservation Trust
Dr. Ivelaw Griffith (Guyana) Fellow, Global Americans; Former Vice-Chancellor, University of Guyana
Rasheed Griffith (Barbados) Non-resident Senior Fellow, Inter-American Dialogue
Dr. Legena Henry (Trinidad and Tobago) Lecturer, University of the West Indies, Cavehill
Camila Idrovo (Colombia/United States) Practice Area Lead, Migration Pan-American Development Foundation
Amb. Riyad Insanally (Guyana) Former Guyana Ambassador to the United States and the OAS
Dr. Scott B. MacDonald (United States) Fellow, Global Americans; Chief Economist, Smith’s Research & Gradings
Dame Billie Miller (Barbados, Co-Chair) Member, Global Americans International Advisory Council; Former Deputy Prime Minister of Barbados
Anaitée Mills (Jamaica) Chair, Jamaica Energy Resilience Alliance
Amb. Luis Gilberto Murillo (Colombia, Co-Chair) Colombia Ambassador to the United States; Former Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia
Dr. Claire Nelson (Jamaica) Founder and Director, Institute of Caribbean Studies
Heiny Palacios (Colombia) Youth Environment Network Chocó, Lead Organizer
Dr. Justin Ram (Barbados) Former Director of Economics, Caribbean Development Bank
Ivan Rebolledo (United States) Chair, Global Americans Board of Directors; Managing Partner, TerraNova Strategic Partners LLC
Dr. Kevin Reed (United States) Associate Dean and Professor, School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University
Alex Rosaria (Curaçao) Former Member, Parliament of Curaçao
Sir Ronald Sanders (Antigua and Barbuda) Antigua and Barbuda Ambassador to the United States and the OAS
Dr. Kalim Shah (Trinidad and Tobago) Assistant Professor, University of Delaware
Dr. Lorraine Sobers (Trinidad and Tobago) Lecturer, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine
Antonia Stolper (United States) Member, Global Americans Board of Directors; Of Counsel, Shearman & Sterling LLP
Amb. Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Thompson (Barbados, Co-Chair) Former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Barbados to the United Nations; Former Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations
Tulio Vera (Chile) Chair, Global Americans International Advisory Council; Former Managing Director, J.P. Morgan Latin America Private Bank
Lisa Viscidi (United States) Senior Manager, Deloitte Consulting
Bruce Zagaris (United States) Partner, Berliner Corcoran & Rowe LLP