Antalya, Türkiye — The Caribbean is paying twice for a climate crisis it did little to create, and the financial burden is taking money away from schools, healthcare and other essential services across the region, Caricom Climate Envoy Dr James Fletcher has warned.
“We are fighting for our survival because every fraction of a degree above 1.5 degrees Celsius is dangerous for small island developing states,” Fletcher said during an interview with Guardian Media at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye.
Eleven years after the historic Paris Agreement, which Caribbean countries helped shape through the “1.5 to Stay Alive” campaign, Fletcher acknowledged that the world remains off course.
The consequences, he explained, are already affecting Caribbean livelihoods, with drought conditions disrupting agriculture in Tobago, St Lucia and other Eastern Caribbean countries.
But beyond the environmental damage is a financial burden that continues to grow each time disaster strikes.
Fletcher pointed to Jamaica, estimating that Hurricane Melissa caused approximately US$12 billion in losses and damage last year.
He contrasted that figure with approximately US$800 million pledged to the international Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, money he stressed had not all been delivered.
For countries already struggling with debt, rebuilding often means borrowing more, while diverting limited resources from other national priorities.
“We’re being victimised twice. We’re paying twice. We’re paying because of the impact of the disaster, and we’re paying also because the governments have to take money out of other development issues, things that should take the country forward and help it to move forward and help its people to progress.”
That concern was echoed by Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who used her address at COP31 to challenge international lending practices that disadvantage climate-vulnerable countries.
“If you see a country falling, do you now want to exploit them by charging them higher interest rates or by denying them access to a fair and level playing field for international trade transactions?” Mottley asked.
She argued that existing debt sustainability rules fail to account adequately for the substantial investments vulnerable countries must make to protect their economies against climate impacts.
Mottley also called for special treatment for climate-vulnerable middle-income countries, which can face financing restrictions despite their exposure to disasters.
Fletcher supports debt relief, debt pauses and cancellation measures, arguing that countries should not be forced to accumulate additional debt to address damage from a crisis they did not cause.
“So it’s not just making the money available, but it’s the form of the money and it’s to ensure that that money gets to these countries quickly enough.”
There is, however, one significant diplomatic development at COP31.
For the first time, Caricom is participating as a distinct negotiating group under the UN climate convention, while retaining its membership in the Alliance of Small Island States. Fletcher believes the arrangement gives the region greater influence when difficult negotiating decisions arise. But that additional voice must now help secure affordable financing, stronger adaptation measures and support for countries recovering from disasters.
For Caribbean families, farmers and fishing communities, the outcome will ultimately be measured not by declarations made in Antalya, but by whether governments can secure the resources needed to protect lives and livelihoods.
