The “Climate Crisis” is a term used to describe climate change, global warming, and their impacts. The term is also used to encourage aggressive action towards lessening the impacts of climate change on the globe, often in heavily-affected areas like the islands of the Caribbean. Trinidad and Tobago is a small archipelago in the Caribbean, southeast of Venezuela. The twin island state is a part of the list of countries who are burdened with the effects of climate change first and foremost today. As a small island developing state (SIDS), Trinidad and Tobago faces threats such as an increase in adverse and erratic weather patterns, rising sea levels, and drastic increases in temperature.
Recognising the need for immediate action, the country has drawn up a Carbon Reduction Strategy in a bid to reduce its carbon footprint, as well to align with their existing National Climate Change Policy. This policy seeks to reduce all public transport emissions by 30% by the year 2030, as pledged when they signed the Paris Agreement, despite the fact that they are ranked 62nd by total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and contribute less than 1% globally. Trinidad and Tobago’s National Climate Change Policy also seeks to do the following:
Enhance the number of carbon sinks present in the country, thereby absorbing an equal or greater quantity of the GHGs they produce. A carbon sink is a natural feature with the capacity to absorb carbon dioxide. By increasing the number of these features present in the country, the level of GHG emissions would be significantly reduced.
Conserve and fortify both human and environmental response to the adverse changes incurred as a result of climate action — particularly through finding cleaner, more efficient energy sources, as well as researching and developing existing strategies and laws.
Educate the population about the effects of climate change and possible adaptation strategies to these effects — the Ministry of Planning and Development has developed the greenhouse gas measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) system as well as a certificate programme for GHG inventorying, quality control, and assurance.
Implement NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions) — NDCs represent each country’s personal commitment to reducing their GHG levels based on their own unique circumstances. NDC reports are required to be submitted every 5 years, with increasingly ambitious goals being outlined in each report. The Ministry of Planning and Development of Trinidad and Tobago has designed a Financial Investment Plan, which will aid both private and public sector businesses in transitioning to more environmentally-friendly ways of conducting business and persuade them to be more environmentally conscious of their impact on their surroundings.
Additionally, as the effects of the climate crisis cause irreversible changes to the country’s weather patterns, subsequent policies for the country’s forestry reserves, land use, and resource management have also been implemented to further reduce their GHG emissions.
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