Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean LIMITED LC/CAR/L.250 3 February 2010 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH REVIEW OF THE ECONOMICS OF CLIMATE CHANGE (RECC) IN THE CARIBBEAN PROJECT: Phase I CLIMATE CHANGE PROFILES IN SELECT CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES __________ This document has been reproduced without formal editing. FOREWORD These reports are the result of consultations which were conducted in 2008 in Aruba, Barbados, Netherlands Antilles, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago. The objective was to obtain relevant information that would inform a Stern-type report where the economics of climate change would be examined for the Caribbean subregion. These reports will be complimented by future assessments of the costs of the “business as usual”, adaptation and mitigation responses to the potential impacts of climate change. It is anticipated that the information contained in each country report would provide a detailed account of the environmental profile and would, therefore, provide an easy point of reference for policymakers in adapting existing policy or in formulating new ones. ECLAC continues to be available to the CDCC countries to provide technical support in the area of sustainable development. Neil Pierre Director ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean wishes to acknowledge the assistance of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs in Aruba, Barbados, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Saint Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago in the preparations for the national consultations. ECLAC expresses appreciation for the support of all stakeholders who participated in the country consultations and shared important information on climate change adaptation and mitigation in their countries. A list of these persons is included in Section 10 of each country report. Table of contents I. INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................1 II. PROJECT INFORMATION............................................................................................................5 III. COUNTRY REPORTS....................................................................................................................8 A. Aruba...........................................................................................................................................9 B. Barbados....................................................................................................................................19 C. Dominican Republic..................................................................................................................38 D. Guyana ......................................................................................................................................47 E. Jamaica ......................................................................................................................................64 F. Montserrat..................................................................................................................................77 G. Netherlands Antilles..................................................................................................................89 H. Saint Lucia ..............................................................................................................................103 I. Trinidad and Tobago ................................................................................................................117 IV. REGIONAL INITIATIVES RELEVANT TO CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION.......................................................................................................................131 V. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ..........................................................................................139 VI. RECOMMENDATIONS.............................................................................................................142 List of tables Table 1 Schedule of consultations .................................................................................................. 7 Table 2 Institutions in Aruba with responsibilities linked to climate change............................... 12 Table 3 List of participants at the consultations in Aruba ............................................................ 18 Table 4 Institutions in Barbados with responsibilities linked to climate change.......................... 24 Table 5 List of participants at the consultations in Barbados. ...................................................... 36 Table 6 List of participants at the consultations in the Dominican Republic ............................... 46 Table 7 Schedule of consultations in Guyana............................................................................... 48 Table 8 List of participants at the consultations in Guyana.......................................................... 62 Table 9 Schedule of consultations in Jamaica .............................................................................. 65 Table 10 Jamaica’s legislation with relevance to climate change ................................................ 69 Table 11 List of participants at the consultations in Jamaica ....................................................... 75 Table 12 Institutions in Montserrat with responsibilities linked to climate change. .................... 81 Table 13 List of participants at the consultations in Montserrat................................................... 88 Table 14 Institutions in the Netherlands Antilles with responsibilities linked to climate change 93 Table 15 List of participants at the consultations in the Netherlands Antilles. .......................... 100 Table 16 Institutions in Saint Lucia with responsibilities linked to climate change. ................. 107 Table 17 List of participants at the consultations in Saint Lucia................................................ 116 Table 18 List of participants at the consultations in Trinidad .................................................... 129 LIST OF ACRONYMS ACCC Adapting to Climate Change in the Caribbean ACS Association of Caribbean States A-OGCM Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Model AOSIS Alliance of Small Island States bPTT British Petroleum of Trinidad and Tobago CANARI Caribbean Natural Resources Institute CAP Common Agricultural Policy CARICOM Caribbean Community CBD Convention on Biological Diversity CBO Community-Based Organization CCCCC Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre CCS Carbon Capture and Storage CDB Caribbean Development Bank CDEMA Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency CDM Clean Development Mechanism CEHI Caribbean Environmental Health Institute CEPEP Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme CERS Certified Emissions Reductions CFCS Chlorofluorocarbons CFLS Compact Fluorescents CGCED Caribbean Group for Cooperation in Economic Development CIDA Canadian International Development Agency CIMH Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology CITES Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species CNG Compressed Natural Gas CO2 Carbon Dioxide COP3 Third Session of the Conference of Parties CPACC Caribbean Planning for Adaptation to Climate Change CRIS Coastal Resource Information System CTO Caribbean Tourism Organization CZM Coastal Zone Management CZMA Coastal Zone Management Act DFID Department for International Development of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland DRM Disaster Risk Management ECACC Enhancing Capacity for Adaptation to Climate Change in the Caribbean ECLAC Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EMA Environmental Management Authority EMLUP Environmental Management and Land Use Planning for Sustainable Development Project EOR Enhanced Oil Recovery ESDU Environment and Sustainable Development Unit of the OECS FAO Food and Agriculture Organization GCC Global Climate Change GDP Gross Domestic Product GEF Global Environment Facility GHG Greenhouse Gas GIS Geographic Information Systems GOF Global Opportunities Fund GPS Global Positioning System GRULAC Group of Latin America and Caribbean Countries IAST Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology IDB Inter-American Development Bank IMF International Monetary Fund IMO International Maritime Organization INSMET Institute of Meteorology (Cuba) IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change LDCs Least Developed Countries LIS Land Information System MACCC Mainstreaming Adaptation to Climate Change MARPOL International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships MEA Multilateral Environmental Agreements MSI Mauritius Strategy NCCA National Climate Change Adaptation NEMO National Emergency and Management Office NEPA National Environment and Planning Agency NEPP Nature and Environmental Policy Plan NICU National Implementation Coordinating Unit NISP National Integral Strategic Plan NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association OECS Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States PAHO Pan American Health Organization PDP Physical Development Plan PEO Public Education And Outreach PETROTRIN Petroleum Company of Trinidad and Tobago PIOJ Planning Institute of Jamaica PRECIS Providing Regional Climates for Impacts Studies RECC Review of the Economics of Climate Change REDD Reduction of Emissions