Second National Communication on Climate Change for Saint Lucia

The Second National Communication for Saint Lucia details the country's climate profile, reporting a 2% increase in total CO2e emissions between 1994 and 2000, totaling 579 Gg. The report identifies high vulnerability in tourism, agriculture, and water resources due to projected temperature increases (up to 3.6C by the 2090s) and rainfall decreases (up to 57% by the end of the century). It proposes two mitigation scenarios to reduce emissions by 19.6% and 25.7% by 2020, respectively, and outlines a series of adaptation measures including revised building codes, coastal setbacks, and integrated watershed management. The document emphasizes significant gaps in financial, human, and technical resources, calling for the mainstreaming of climate resilience into national development planning.

• Total greenhouse gas emissions for Saint Lucia in the year 2000 were 579 Gg CO2e, representing an almost 2% increase from 1994 levels.
• The energy sector is the largest contributor to emissions, specifically stationary combustion, followed by methane from solid waste disposal and CO2 from transportation.
• Climate models project a significant increase in mean annual temperatures for Saint Lucia, with increases of up to 3.6C by the 2090s under certain scenarios.
• Annual rainfall is projected to decrease, with Regional Climate Models predicting a reduction of between 27% and 57% by the end of the century.
• Hurricane intensity is expected to increase, with a study concluding that 3-4 category V and IV hurricanes could occur annually by 2025, compared to a historical average of 1.4.
• Sea level rise in the Caribbean is expected to be between 0.17 m and 0.24 m by 2050 under the A1B scenario, which will cause the shoreline to recede.
• Mitigation Scenario #1, consisting of 16 measures, is projected to reduce overall GHG emissions by 19.6% relative to the baseline by 2020.
• Mitigation Scenario #2, which adds landfill gas capture and a demand-side management program to Scenario #1, is projected to reduce overall emissions by 25.7% by 2020.
• The tourism sector is highly vulnerable to climate change, particularly due to its dependence on coastal environments and the risk of coral bleaching and beach erosion.
• The water sector is identified as a critical cross-cutting vulnerability, where inadequate infrastructure and changing precipitation patterns threaten national prosperity.
• Saint Lucia faces systemic constraints including limited financial resources, inadequate specialist human resources, and a lack of integrated development planning.
• The government has proposed several high-cost adaptation projects, including a US$15.38 million project for 'Climate Change & Ports' and a US$5 million project for landslide rehabilitation.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2011). Second National Communication on Climate Change for Saint Lucia. https://cdn.leap.sei.org/documents/SNCSaintLucia.pdf

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Second National Communication on Climate Change for Saint Lucia. 2011. https://cdn.leap.sei.org/documents/SNCSaintLucia.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Second National Communication on Climate Change for Saint Lucia |date=December 2011 |url=https://cdn.leap.sei.org/documents/SNCSaintLucia.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2011second, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Second National Communication on Climate Change for Saint Lucia}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2011}, month = dec, url = {https://cdn.leap.sei.org/documents/SNCSaintLucia.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }