Implementing nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement: An assessment of ocean-based climate action in Caribbean Small Island Developing States

Abstract

This paper investigates the integration of ocean-based ambitions and actions into the climate commitments of Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in achieving their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the 2015 Paris Agreement together with the climate financing needs to meet these targets. The paper examined whether the Caribbean acknowledges ocean-based activities as important ways to address mitigation and adaptation as well as the role of international and domestic finance, private sector finance, and fiscal policy reform with respect to ocean-based activities within their NDCs. The methodology adopted was a content analysis of Caribbean countries’ NDCs and updated NDCs. The data used for the content analysis were obtained from initial and updated NDCs for sixteen Caribbean SIDS. The paper found that the Caribbean views ocean-based activity as important for mitigation and adaptation with significant potential to increase blue climate ambition and action. The region is however dependent on international climate finance which is not sufficient to reach its ocean-based NDCs, while there is lack of public finance and an absence of private sector finance as well as innovative domestic private and public finance and fiscal incentives to achieve these goals.