CIBC Caribbean’s ComTrust Foundation has made a donation to Sure Foundation in a bid to aid in addressing this country’s carbon footprint.
The Sure Foundation’s focus is on reducing the carbon footprint of the T&T economy while supporting the nation’s food security position through its tree-planting project.
The donation was made April 9, 2024.
“While the bank encourages and supports organisations, corporate and non-profit, to help the environment through a variety of projects, there is one aspect of the Sure Foundation that is very interesting. By the planting of fruit trees and other food-bearing plants, the Sure Foundation is helping to reduce the annual food import bill,” said Anthony Seeraj, managing director of CIBC Caribbean, Trinidad operating company.
Professor Roger Hosein, economist and member of the NGO, explained the importance of the group’s work, “We have modified a formula to measure carbon dioxide from the trees planted, especially as 2024 is on course for higher temperatures than 2023,” Professor Hosein said.
The economist noted recently, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled in the favour of the KlimaSeniorinnen, a group of 2,400 older Swiss women, who took their government to court. The women said their country violated their rights to family life because of weak climate policies, as they are more likely to die in heat waves.
The women argued that Switzerland should do its share to stop the planet heating by the Paris agreement target of 1.5C (2.7F) above pre-industrial levels. Presently, temperatures have become hotter and more common because of fossil fuels.
Professor Hosein said this ruling was significant as it also relates to how we should take care of our country as the world faces harsh changes in global weather.
CIBC Caribbean’s ComTrust Foundation, the bank’s charitable arm, was established as a registered charity in Barbados. The foundation supports projects in the 12 countries where the bank has a presence, donating not less than USD$1 million annually.
The Sure Foundation was set up in 2012 as a direct response to the social and environmental challenges faced by communities in the southwest peninsula of Trinidad. At the beginning of 2015, it launched a decarbonisation strategy to help ease the atmosphere in T&T.