Monday 15 August 2022

UN climate change hub built in Barbados

A new building has been built to understand and fight the impacts of climate change in Barbados – a country heavily impacted by changing temperatures and weather.

Aiming to enhance climate response in the Caribbean, the training centre and logistics hub is a collaboration between the UN, Barbadian government and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA).

The disaster centre will be run by the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP), delivering aid by air and sea to various Caribbean nations.

Hurricanes, storms, droughts and floods have become far more frequent in recent years, as a knock-on effect of human pollution, with these only expected to rise.

The WFP has stated that in the last 70 years, 324 disasters have impacted the Caribbean – leading to the countries’ economies suffering six times more than larger nations.

The hub will be located in the capital city, Bridgetown.

WFP Chief, David Beasley, said: “The Caribbean islands are right on the frontlines of climate change. As hurricanes become more frequent and severe, we need to be fully prepared so that lives are saved, livelihoods are defended and hard-won development gains are protected.”