CLIMATE CHANGE is as much a justice issue as it is an environmental issue, certainly for Caribbean islands, which bear the lingering scars of colonialism.

This is according to local researchers who suggested recently that this should be the basis of negotiations for climate financing to bolster the region’s readiness for impacts, including more extreme hurricane events that are already being experienced by the islands.

“We have all witnessed the devastation caused by the natural disasters in Jamaica and in sister Caribbean countries and other parts of the world in the past, and in more recent times where they have increased in frequency and intensity. The Caribbean, therefore, understands, with alarming clarity, the urgent need to take measures to address the issue of climate change,” said Professor Verene Shepherd, who heads the Centre for Reparation Research at The University of the West Indies.

“As a historian, I cannot help but remind us of the long genealogy of the actions that have brought us to this place. I am quite aware that a blame game without tangible solutions will get us nowhere, but that is no excuse to be a historical about this issue. In this regard, let us not dismiss the role of plantation construction and colonialism and the role they played in the reconfiguration of our environment,” she added.

Shepherd was speaking at the recent symposium on climate, history and responsibility, jointly organised by Rutgers University and The University of the West Indies (UWI) and hosted at the UWI Regional Headquarters in Kingston last month.

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