The Caribbean Science Series, Vol. 1

Abstract

On December 21, 2015 at the 21st Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 195 nations agreed to hold “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and [to pursue] efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C” (The Paris Agreement). The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in alliance with other small island developing states galvanized the world around the idea of a 1.5 target. In late 2016 the Caribbean Development Bank supported an effort by the Caribbean climate science community to determine the significance of a 1.5°C global warming target for the region. Other support came from the Investment Plan for the Caribbean Regional Track of the Pilot Program on Climate Resilience. This science series captures the emerging messages from the Caribbean 1.5 Project. Since the region is very sensitive to climate variations, many things are impacted. These include agriculture and food production, population health, marine and terrestrial ecosystems, tourism, freshwater systems, energy systems, livelihoods, worker and student productivity, coastal infrastructure and ultimately the economies of Caribbean countries. By running and analyzing the results of computer models, regional scientists are also providing a glimpse of what the future climate of the region may look like at high global warming levels.