Experts Link Climate And Reparatory Justice

The University of the West Indies (The UWI) in collaboration with the Open Society University Network (OSUN) recently hosted a webinar on the Caribbean’s need for climate justice. The virtual engagement held on March 30 was part of Open Society’s Global Teach-In series. Championing a grassroots effort, the initiative designated the date for universities and organisations worldwide to lead events focused on ambitious but feasible, region-specific solutions to help Solve Climate by 2030.

The webinar Climate Justice in the Caribbean, hosted by the University’s Office of Global Affairs was one of more than 250 events held throughout the global OSUN network. The public education event which engaged a wide group of stakeholders, built on the research projects and collaborations that have been fostered through The UWI’s MOU with Open Society Foundations—one of which supports the development of a climate justice strategy.

In her welcome remarks, UWI Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Global Affairs, Dr Richards-Kennedy reinforced the University’s position as an activist and SDG-engaged academy. The UWI, she said, is committed to the idea of higher education institutions being at the forefront of climate action and climate justice. She noted also that universities “… are not only vital hubs for research, teaching, and knowledge exchange. They also serve as living laboratories and are important spaces for demonstration projects on how research can be applied to provide practical solutions to climate challenges.”

She also introduced the connection between climate and reparatory justice stating, “Climate justice is integrated also into the discourse on reparatory justice because research has shown that the countries that are the most affected are those that were historically exploited and drained of natural resources during centuries of extraction and exploitation that occurred during colonization.” This connection was acknowledged and supported by other presenters on the webinar, which included: Ms Yamide Dagnet, Global Director, Climate Justice, Open Society Foundations; Dr. James Fletcher, Former Energy Minister of Saint Lucia and Founder and Managing Director, SOLORICON Ltd; and Dr Emily Dick-Forde, Acting Deputy Principal, The UWI Open Campus, and Management Committee Member of the UWI Global Institute for Climate-Smart and Resilient Development.

Ms. Yamide Dagnet commended The UWI as being a ‘powerhouse’ in climate change leadership. She also acknowledged the connection between the justice discourse on climate change and The UWI’s global leadership on reparation for slavery and genocide. “The poor, women…the most vulnerable, marginalized communities of indigenous, black and people of colour; we bear the consequences disproportionately without any guarantee of dignity.” She went on to note that although these communities bear little responsibility for climate change and its significant economic costs, “the impact of climate change on vulnerable countries has been neglected and unfunded.”