The Cayman Islands are facing a complex range of risks from climate change, and the government will need to make some significant decisions in the short term if it is going to protect the country in the long term. Key threats from rising, warmer seas and bigger, more intense storms, identified by researchers in the final report of the Climate Change Risk Assessment conducted last year will cause coastal erosion, flooding, the destruction of buildings and the salination of the water lenses.
Just some of the problems Cayman must begin to contend with include the impact on marine species like sea turtles and corals, loss and damage to natural habitats, disruption to the energy sector, and damage to critical infrastructure such as sewerage systems, roads, airports, coastal settlements, ports and shipping traffic.
The climate policy will play a significant part in guiding what the government will do to mitigate the threats of climate change, but the rollout of the policy is not expected until at least the latter part of this year.
Officials from the ministry said that once the working draft of the policy has been finalised by the technical working group, the document will be put before Cabinet for review and approval to commence public consultation.
The thirty-day public consultation period for the draft policy will include several public meetings on all three islands and a digital feedback mechanism to capture community feedback. Once public feedback has been incorporated into the final draft, the policy will be presented to Cabinet for final review and approval, officials said. Implementation planning for the policy is expected to take place over the course of 2023-2024.