Some 17 percent of the Caribbean’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is lost annually to hurricanes. The statistic was highlighted by Dr José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Executive Director of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), during the 8th meeting of UN ECLAC's Caribbean Development Roundtable on Monday (September 9, 2024). Trinidad and Tobago hosted this year's Roundtable. The ECLAC Executive Secretary noted these climate impacts are significant contributors to public debt in the region. “In the Caribbean, the growth challenge is exacerbated by unique vulnerabilities,” he observed. “In this region, the climate crisis and natural disasters pose an existential threat. The passage of Hurricane Beryl in June speaks clearly to your countries’ high exposure to destructive climatic events and the Hurricane Season.”
