• PwC, CCSA drive greater climate resilience in Caribbean region with plan to create world’s first Climate-Smart Zone

 PwC Trinidad and Tobago is collaborating with the Caribbean Climate Smart Accelerator (CCSA) on a groundbreaking tool and roadmap to help drive greater climate resilience in the region.

As a pivotal step towards creating the Climate Smart Zone, the CCSA unveiled the Climate Smart Map at COP28 in Dubai. An interactive platform, which includes climate action data from over 26 countries, the Map is designed to empower action and decision-making for resilience and sustainability across the Caribbean region, including key milestones with costs, implications and timelines.

The Climate Smart Zone will help align key stakeholders behind climate targets and provide specific climate action guidance for philanthropists, investors, and other partners, while actively supporting private sector action aligned with government initiatives.

Zia Paton, Partner and Consulting Leader, PwC Trinidad and Tobago, said: “While the region is not a significant net contributor to global anthropogenic carbon emissions – less than 1% – the impact of climate change is disproportionately severe with costs from adverse weather events for the region accounting for close to 40% of total global damages.

“For some Caribbean countries, losses exceed the size of their economy and range up to 225% of GDP for just one event, according to the IMF. The roadmap being developed provides a path to tangible solutions desperately needed for driving greater climate resilience for the region.”

The PwC team working with CCSA includes a combination of PwC regional and global specialists, and a team from PwC India, providing a strong blend of local input with global best-in-class guidance on climate smart actions.

Racquel Moses, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Global Ambassador and CEO of CCSA, said: “The launch of the Climate Smart Map propelled us toward the realisation of our vision for the Caribbean as the world’s first Climate-Smart Zone.

“This unprecedented project initiated by the CCSA focuses on comprehensive climate data collection, to align goals and identify strategic investment opportunities across the region, for the benefit of the region. CCSA is working with trusted advisors, PwC Trinidad and Tobago, to co-develop this comprehensive roadmap for the Caribbean supported by meticulous data assimilation and compilation, to ensure recommendations are firmly grounded in a thorough understanding of the region’s climate dynamics and investment opportunities.”

CCSA’s approach toward defining the Climate Smart Zone involves:

Climate Smart Zone measurement: collecting data and insights towards setting realistic and achievable goals to measure progress toward a Climate-Smart Zone;

Baseline analysis: reviewing the current climate actions in the region and identifying gaps and opportunities;

Targets and milestones: formulating a data-driven roadmap with precise targets and milestones;

Costs: exploring costs associated with actions and inactions, presenting strategic investment plans for impactful and inclusive outcomes for the 26 countries in the Caribbean region; and

Stakeholder actions: outlining specific opportunities and actions for non-state actors, private sectors, and governments.

 Importance of collaboration

Over the course of the project CCSA and PwC embarked on extensive stakeholder engagement across the public and private sectors in the region with further engagement expected as the roadmap is developed.