5 July 2011
ECLAC Meeting Considers Climate Change Costs and Benefits in Caribbean Countries
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ECLAC Expert Group Meeting on Understanding the Potential Economic Impacts of Climate Change in Latin America and the Caribbean considered the economic impacts of climate change on four Caribbean countries and how these economic assessments may guide or influence national climate change policies.

30 June 2011: The third Expert Group Meeting on Understanding the Potential Economic Impacts of Climate Change in Latin America and the Caribbean, which was organized by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), considered climate change costs and benefits in Caribbean countries.

During the meeting, which was held on 30 June 2011, in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, participants heard presentations of case studies on the economic costs and benefits of climate change in three key sectors in four Caribbean countries: Saint Lucia, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. The presentations covered, among other things, the impact climate change will have on the gross domestic product (GDP) of these countries, as well as the adaptation actions that could be taken and the costs of such actions. Participants also considered how these economic assessments may guide or influence national climate change policies.

The meeting highlighted, inter alia: the importance of promoting public education and awareness of climate change impacts; the cross-cutting nature of water management; and the need for research and development into climate change impacts and responses to be included on the government agenda and to inform national policy. [Meeting Website] [IISD RS Coverage of the Meeting]

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