Above: St Vincent (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Climate change will disproportionately impact small island states like those in the Caribbean, and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States is looking to explore its options for coping with the problem.

A seminar this past week focused on precisely that, with “adaptation” the buzzword among participants.

One of its objectives was to “provide policymakers with innovative ways to sustain economic growth despite the negative effects of severe weather events,” according to a statement.

The seminar was hosted in St Vincent and the Grenadines, where the country’s Prime Minister warned participants that unless an action plan for dealing with climate change’s effects is implemented, “small island states will continue to grow increasingly vulnerable to disasters.”

The goal that emerged from the seminar was to develop a “regional climate centre to predict and project climate impacts,” said Jonathan Conley, mission director for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean at USAID.