Homes destroyed by Hurricane Beryl lie in Clifton, Union Island, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Thursday, July 4, 2024. exposed the vulnerability of small islands. Beryl killed at least seven people in the Caribbean and razed nearly all infrastructure on some of the islands that make up Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.“ are on the front line,” said Virginia Albert-Poyotte, the delegate for St.
A resolution approved Friday by the OAS stated that previous hurricanes have led to higher insurance premiums, unemployment and poverty. It called for the immediate operation of a loss and damage fund agreed upon at previous U.N. climate change conferences to help vulnerable countries rebuild and also prepare for future storms.
OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro noted that funds flowing toward islands affected by Beryl are insufficient, with the U.N. and Caribbean leaders“This is yet another indication that the climate crisis is worsening,” he said.worldwide have remained “silent and noncommittal” about their responsibilities, noting that the Caribbean is one of the regions most affected by climate change and among those that contribute least to it.
Officials talked about the need to invest in early warning systems and resilient infrastructure, noting that the Atlantic hurricane season has just started.climate change