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This policy brief examines the successful adoption of solar water heater (SWH) technology in Barbados, detailing how a combination of early entrepreneurial leadership, consistent government fiscal incentives, and strategic consumer marketing created a thriving industry that reduced dependence on imported fossil fuels.

This policy brief examines the successful adoption of solar water heaters (SWHs) in Barbados, where over 50,000 units have been installed. The success is attributed to a combination of early entrepreneurial 'champions', consistent government fiscal incentives (such as the Homeowner Tax Benefit and the Fiscal Incentives Act of 1974), and strategies to reduce consumer risk through performance guarantees and credit schemes. The document highlights that these incentives provided high value, costing the government a small fraction of revenue while saving consumers millions of dollars annually. It concludes that the Barbados experience can be replicated in other sun-rich countries with high fossil fuel imports, provided there is long-term regulatory certainty and local sensitivity in implementation.

This policy brief describes Grenada's 2011 Strategic Program for Climate Resilience (SPCR), a national strategy developed under the Pilot Program for Climate Change Resilience (PPCR) to transition the country toward low-carbon and climate-resilient development. The document outlines the SPCR's focus on physical infrastructure and forestry, its funding through the Climate Investment Funds, and the lessons learned from its participatory design process.

This report synthesizes key findings from the IPCC's Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters (SREX), specifically focusing on the implications for Latin America and the Caribbean. It examines the interaction between climate change, human factors, and the natural environment to assess disaster risk and provides guidance on integrating disaster risk management (DRM) with climate change adaptation and sustainable development.

This report synthesizes findings from the IPCC Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Promote Adaptation to Climate Change (SREX), specifically focusing on the implications for Latin America and the Caribbean. It examines the interaction between climate extremes, human factors, and the environment, emphasizing that disaster risk is increasing due to rising vulnerability and exposure, even independent of climate change.

This report synthesizes findings from the IPCC Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX), specifically applying them to Latin America and the Caribbean. It examines the interaction between climate extremes, human vulnerability, and exposure, arguing that disaster risk is increasing not only due to climate change but also because of skewed development processes. The document provides observed and projected trends for temperature and precipitation extremes across various sub-regions and offers a framework for integrating disaster risk management (DRM) with climate change adaptation (CCA) to build long-term resilience.

The Second National Communication on Climate Change for Saint Lucia, published in December 2011, provides a comprehensive assessment of the country's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, climate vulnerabilities, and strategies for mitigation and adaptation. The report details a GHG inventory for the year 2000, projects future emissions through 2020 under various scenarios, and evaluates the vulnerability of key sectors—including tourism, agriculture, and water resources—to rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, and sea-level rise. It proposes a series of priority adaptation and mitigation measures, while identifying significant gaps in financial, technical, and institutional capacity that hinder the mainstreaming of climate resilience into national development planning.

This policy brief describes the development and strategic goals of the Implementation Plan (IP) for 2011-2021, created by the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) to achieve development resilient to climate change across the 15 CARICOM member states.

This report by the World Resources Institute (WRI) develops and pilots a replicable economic valuation methodology for coral reef ecosystem services in the Caribbean, specifically focusing on Tobago and St. Lucia. The study evaluates three primary services: reef-associated tourism and recreation, fisheries, and shoreline protection, providing lower-bound estimates of their contribution to local GDPs to inform sustainable coastal management and policy decisions.

This 2005 report assesses the sustainability of tourism in St. Lucia, finding that while the sector is a critical economic driver (38% of GDP), it suffers from high leakage due to foreign ownership (55-60% of hotel rooms) and a reliance on package tours. The analysis highlights a vulnerability to external shocks, such as the post-9/11 downturn, and notes a conflict between GATS trade obligations and the government's ability to regulate for environmental and social sustainability. While solid waste management has improved, energy consumption has risen, and the report recommends integrated national planning and voluntary sustainability certifications to optimize local benefits.

This policy brief describes the Global Islands’ Vulnerability Research Adaptation Policy and Development (GIVRAPD) Project, an interdisciplinary research initiative focused on understanding the socioeconomic, governance, and environmental factors that influence the vulnerability and adaptive capacity of small and medium-sized coastal communities in Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

This policy brief from the Climate and Development Knowledge Network argues that climate change adaptation in the Caribbean is fundamentally a governance challenge requiring a multi-level approach. It advocates for the creation of networks and hybrid partnerships between state and non-state actors to bridge jurisdictional scales and sectors, using case studies from St. Lucia and Jamaica to illustrate how community-based organizations and public-private partnerships can enhance adaptive capacity.

This policy brief from the GIVRAPD project examines the disconnect between national climate adaptation policies and local-level implementation in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). It highlights the need to reconcile top-down national planning with local community needs through participatory planning and collaborative governance to overcome adaptation barriers.

This policy brief details the findings of the GIVRAPD project in Saint Lucia, specifically focusing on the Soufriere region. It examines local adaptive capacity using the Local Adaptive Capacity (LAC) framework, identifies barriers to adaptation through participatory planning, and evaluates the potential for micro-insurance to mitigate financial risks for vulnerable populations facing climate-induced weather extremes.

This fact sheet from the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) outlines the economic and social impacts of climate change on the Caribbean, specifically focusing on the tourism and agriculture sectors, and highlights the role of research-based adaptation strategies.

This fact sheet outlines the economic and social impacts of climate change in the Caribbean, highlighting vulnerabilities in the tourism and agriculture sectors and proposing resilience measures such as micro-insurance, irrigation, and spatial planning.

This fact sheet from the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) outlines approaches to building local resilience and influencing national climate policy through community-based research in the Caribbean, specifically focusing on Saint Lucia and Jamaica.

This synthesis note, published by the Center for International Environmental Law and the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, examines how United Nations human rights treaty bodies (HRTBs) use their state reporting procedures to define the obligations of States to respect, protect, and fulfil human rights in the context of climate change. The report focuses on the work of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), and the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) up to December 2017.

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law and the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights examines how the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) interprets state obligations under the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC Convention) in relation to climate change, focusing on General Comments and Concluding Observations.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative provides comparative scorecards for several countries, evaluating the progress between their previous Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and their new versions (often NDC 2.0 or 3.0). The analysis focuses on key criteria: needs scope and granularity, timeframe, conditionality, implementation readiness, private sector mobilization strategies, and alignment with national and sectoral plans.