Intra-ACP Climate Services and Related Applications (ClimSA) Programme

Despite being among the lowest contributors to green-house gas emissions, African, Caribbean, and Pacific states are among the most vulnerable to climate change and climate variability. The adverse impacts of climate change are already being felt across the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Land-locked Developing Countries (LLDCs) and are expected to increase significantly by 2030.

In recognition of the existential threat posed to its member states, the Organisation of the African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) launched the Intra-ACP Climate Services and Related Applications (ClimSA) Programme on March 30, 2021, to support adaptation and resilience to climate variability and climate change across climate-sensitive sectors – agriculture and food security, disaster risk reduction, energy, health, and water resources management, in the 3 ACP regions. Endowed with EURO 85 million in funding provided by the European Union under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF), this initiative aims to support the climate information services value chain through the provision of technical assistance, financial assistance, and infrastructure and capacity building to improve access and use of climate information and applications for decision making processes at all levels, in the seventy-nine member states of the OACPS.

 Intra-ACP ClimSA Caribbean Programme

The EU through the ACP Secretariat has provided EURO 9 million to the Caribbean Meteorological Organization (CMO) for the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) to execute and implement the Intra-ACP ClimSA Programme in the Caribbean.

The Programme will be implemented through pilot activities aimed at strengthening the climate services value chains – from access to information, generation, and provision of climate services to engagement and building the capacity of users in the:

  • Health Sector of Dominica;
  • Water Sector of Jamaica;
  • Agriculture and Food Security Sector of Guyana.

The Intra-ACP ClimSA Caribbean Programme aligns well with the CIMH programme of work aimed at providing actionable climate services at regional and national levels across the Caribbean. It is anticipated that the 16 Member States of the CMO will benefit from the Programme through (i) regional capacity building initiatives, (ii) sharing of lessons learned and results from the three pilot countries, and (iii) institutional and capacity building at the CIMH.

Project Outcomes 

  • Outcome 1 – Interaction between the users, researchers and climate services providers in the Caribbean regions is structured.
  • Outcome 2 – Provision of climate services at Regional and National levels is effectively guaranteed and secured.
  • Outcome 3 – Access to Climate Information is improved.
  • Outcome 4 – Capacity of the Caribbean region to generate and apply climate information and products relevant to particular concerns is enhanced.
  • Outcome 5 – Climate-informed decision-making is enhanced and climate services are mainstreamed into policy processes at regional and national levels.

Through the Intra-ACP ClimSA Caribbean Programme, it is expected that the utilization of climate information, services and applications will be integrated at all levels of decision-making, leading to improved adaptation measures, and allowing the Caribbean region to become more sustainable and resilient to climate variability and climate change.