In case you missed it – Towards climate justice in the Caribbean

Session #1: Understanding types of climate injustice

May 6, 2026

The Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) launched its webinar series, Towards climate justice in the Caribbean, with a session exploring different forms of climate injustice and how these are experienced across Caribbean communities.

The webinar brought together 86 participants—representatives of civil society organisations, activists, academics, state and non-state actors, and community advocates from across the region—to discuss climate justice in Caribbean contexts, reflect on lived experiences of climate injustice, and examine possible pathways toward more just and resilient futures.

Following the plenary session, which was led by CANARI Executive Director Nicole Leotaud, participants were divided across five breakout rooms, averaging approximately 17 participants per group.

1. Welcome and introduction to the webinar series

Nicole opened the session by introducing the Towards climate justice in the Caribbean webinar series and sharing some background on the Caribbean Climate Justice Alliance, which brings together more than 70 civil society organisations, academics, creatives, activists, and other actors working across different aspects of climate justice in the region.

She explained that the webinar series builds on discussions held during CANARI’s 2026 Partners Forum in Barbados and aims to:

• deepen understandings of climate justice,
• create space for regional dialogue and knowledge sharing,
• strengthen networks,
• and support collective advocacy and action for climate justice in the Caribbean.

Participants heard that the 10-part webinar series is organised into three phases:

Phase 1: Foundations – Understanding climate justice

This phase focuses on introducing core concepts and frameworks related to climate justice.

Phase 2: Lived experiences of climate injustice

This phase will explore how different groups and communities experience climate injustice in practice, including:

• women and LGBTQI+ persons,
• rural communities and natural resource users,
• Indigenous peoples,
• and youth.

Phase 3: Pathways to climate justice – agency and action

This phase will focus on practical pathways for advancing climate justice, including:

• access to information and participation,
• advocacy,
• climate litigation,
• and coalition building. 

2. Participants reflect on what climate justice means

Participants were invited to reflect on the question: “What does climate justice mean to you?”

Using a live Mentimeter activity, participants contributed words and short phrases describing their understandings of climate justice.

Some of the themes listed included:

• accountability,
• fairness,
• equity,
• reparations,
• protecting vulnerable communities,
• resilience,
• recognition,
• decolonisation,
• freedom,
• and environmental protection.

As participants continued contributing responses, Nicole noted that many of the ideas being shared reflected an understanding of climate change as not only an environmental or technical issue, but also an issue connected to:

• equity,
• justice,
• accountability,
• power,
• and Caribbean development.

3. Climate justice as a critical Caribbean development issue

Nicole then explained why climate justice is such a critical issue for Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

She described the Caribbean as facing a “triple climate injustice”:

1. Caribbean countries contribute minimally to global greenhouse gas emissions.
2. The region is among the most vulnerable globally to climate change impacts.
3. Caribbean countries often have limited capacity to recover from climate-related impacts.

Participants heard that stronger hurricanes remain one of the most devastating climate impacts facing the Caribbean and that scientific projections suggest high-intensity hurricanes are expected to become disproportionately stronger in the region.

Nicole also explained that climate impacts are experienced unevenly and disproportionately and stressed the importance of understanding how factors such as:

• gender,
• geography,
• race,
• class,
• age,
• disability,
• and indigeneity

shape vulnerability and experiences of climate injustice.

The session also explored the concept of climate coloniality, which Nicole described as a framework for understanding how colonial histories, ongoing systems of extraction, and global power imbalances continue to shape climate vulnerability and inequality in the Caribbean.

4. Exploring the different types of climate justice and injustice

The webinar introduced participants to several different dimensions of climate justice and climate injustice using examples from the Kalinago Territory in Dominica following Hurricane Maria in 2017.

Recognitional justice

Nicole explained that recognitional justice focuses on recognising how different groups experience climate change differently and ensuring that their identities, rights, experiences, and perspectives are respected.

Using the Kalinago example, she highlighted issues relating to insufficient recognition of Indigenous rights and the impacts of climate change on Indigenous cultural heritage and identity.

Distributional justice

Participants heard that distributional justice focuses on how climate-related benefits, burdens, risks, and opportunities are distributed.

Nicole shared examples from the Kalinago Territory where some community members described aid distribution after Hurricane Maria as unequal and influenced by political relationships and clientelism.

Procedural justice

Procedural justice focuses on fairness and legitimacy in decision-making processes.

Nicole highlighted frustrations among Kalinago community members about limited voice and influence in decisions related to rebuilding and resilience planning after Hurricane Maria.

She also shared examples of tensions around rebuilding approaches, including concerns that some reconstruction efforts did not adequately reflect traditional Indigenous architectural styles and cultural priorities.

Restorative justice

Nicole described restorative justice as focusing on restoring justice to those harmed by climate change and supporting victims of climate-related loss and damage.

Participants heard about insufficient support for the Kalinago community’s long-term recovery and resilience-building despite the severe impacts they experienced.

Retributive justice

Retributive justice, participants heard, focuses on accountability for those responsible for causing climate change.

Nicole linked this to discussions around:

• historical responsibility,
• colonial legacies,
• global emissions,
• and climate finance.

Intergenerational justice

The webinar also explored intergenerational justice, which considers obligations to future generations.

Nicole shared concerns raised by Kalinago participants about the long-term impacts of climate change on:

• cultural heritage,
• biodiversity,
• traditional livelihoods,
• and future opportunities for younger generations.

Justice in system outcomes

The final dimension discussed focused on justice in system outcomes, including impacts on ecosystems, biodiversity, and cultural landscapes.

Participants heard examples of how environmental degradation caused by climate change can also threaten cultural identity and heritage.

5. Case study: The Kalinago Territory in Dominica

Throughout the session, Nicole drew on research conducted with Indigenous Kalinago communities in Dominica following Hurricane Maria in 2017.

The case study was used to illustrate how different forms of climate injustice intersect and are experienced in practice.

Participants heard examples relating to:

• housing loss,
• rebuilding processes,
• cultural disruption,
• governance and participation,
• and Indigenous knowledge systems.

Nicole shared how some Kalinago community members felt that rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Maria prioritised externally defined ideas of resilience over traditional Indigenous building styles and community preferences.

Participants also heard examples of traditional resilience practices and systems within the Kalinago community, including:

• traditional crops,
• local food systems,
• community self-help systems,
• traditional building techniques,
• and inter-island trade relationships.

Nicole also shared examples of how Kalinago organisations and advocates have used international advocacy spaces to amplify Indigenous perspectives on climate justice and resilience.

6. Pathways toward climate justice

The webinar then shifted toward discussion of possible pathways toward climate justice.

Nicole introduced the capabilities approach, which frames climate justice around protecting and restoring people’s freedoms, opportunities, and agency.

Participants heard that climate change can restrict people’s ability to pursue the lives and futures they value and that climate justice therefore involves restoring or protecting these opportunities.

Using examples from the Kalinago Territory, Nicole shared several capabilities community members identified as important, including:

• meaningful participation in political processes,
• greater autonomy over land and development,
• protection of Indigenous identity and heritage,
• and the ability to draw on traditional knowledge in resilience-building efforts.

The presentation also highlighted several strategies communities are already using in seeking climate justice, including:

• resistance and self-sufficiency,
• cultural revival,
• traditional agriculture,
• mutual support systems,
• regional and international advocacy,
• and coalition building.

Nicole also noted that many Kalinago participants spoke about the importance of unity and collective action within communities as part of strengthening climate resilience and advocacy efforts.

7. Breakout group discussions: lived experiences and local perspectives

The breakout discussions reflected the regional and interdisciplinary diversity of participants, with representatives from across the Caribbean and beyond, including Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Jamaica, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Guyana, Belize, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Haiti, Suriname, Curaçao, Aruba, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Virgin Islands, Argentina, the United States, Great Britain, Germany, Nepal, and the Netherlands.

Participants represented a wide range of professional and community backgrounds, including civil society organisations, environmental and climate justice advocates, Indigenous community representatives, farmers and fishers, researchers, educators, legal practitioners, government and environmental agency representatives, communications professionals, development practitioners, health professionals, artists and cultural workers, project managers, and community organisers.

The five breakout groups were facilitated by CANARI staff members:

• Ainka Granderson, Resilience Programme Manager;
• Dylis McDonald, Senior Technical Officer;
• Nicole Leotaud, Executive Director;
• Michele Matthews-Morancie, Senior Communications Officer;
• and Niamh Vaughan, Technical Officer.

During the breakout group discussions, participants reflected on:

• climate injustices they had experienced or witnessed,
• and strategies communities are using or could use to pursue climate justice.

Participants discussed how climate injustice is already affecting Caribbean communities, particularly fisherfolk, Indigenous peoples, farmers, low-income communities, and other marginalised groups. Discussions focused on unequal exposure to climate impacts, barriers to recovery, and exclusion from decision-making processes.

Coastal communities and livelihoods

Participants from Barbados, Jamaica, Nevis, and elsewhere described the impacts of coastal erosion, flooding, storms, and changing weather patterns on fishing communities and coastal livelihoods. Key issues raised included:

• loss of fish landing sites and coastal infrastructure;
• damage to boats, fishing gear, and homes;
• rising costs associated with relocation and recovery;
• difficulty accessing financial support, loans, and compensation.

Participants also noted that adaptation and coastal protection projects are often implemented without sufficient community consultation or incorporation of local knowledge.

Indigenous communities and extractive industries

Participants highlighted the disproportionate impacts climate change and extractive industries are having on Indigenous communities. Issues raised included:

• flooding and landslides in the Kalinago Territory;
• the legacy of colonial displacement into climate-vulnerable areas;
• environmental damage linked to mining activities;
• impacts of pollution, including cyanide spills, on Indigenous communities and waterways;
• threats to cultural heritage and historical sites from erosion and environmental degradation.

Agriculture and environmental change

Farmers and agricultural practitioners discussed increasingly unpredictable rainfall, drought, flooding, and stronger storms. Participants noted:

• crop losses and damage to perennial crops after storms;
• changing growing conditions and declining environmental quality;
• the vulnerability of older and small-scale farmers;
• the limits of individual adaptation efforts despite practices such as regenerative agriculture.

Suggestions included diversified livelihoods, intergenerational knowledge-sharing, and stronger resilience support for small producers.

Governance, participation and procedural justice

A major theme across breakout rooms was the lack of meaningful public participation in environmental and climate decision-making. Participants raised concerns about:

• communities being consulted too late, or not at all;
• political influence affecting consultation processes;
• fear of victimization for speaking openly;
• weak accountability and transparency mechanisms;
• ministerial discretion in environmental decision-making processes, which some participants felt could undermine transparency and public participation.

Participants emphasized the need for earlier and more meaningful consultation, stronger legal protections, and more accessible public information.

Recovery, inequality and access to support

Participants repeatedly stressed that climate impacts and recovery are not experienced equally. Lower-income communities, small-scale fishers and farmers, and marginalised groups often face greater barriers to recovery.

Examples included:

• unequal access to compensation and rebuilding support;
• limited insurance and social protection options;
• communities relying on self-organization and mutual aid because formal support is insufficient or delayed.

Participants discussed livelihood protection schemes, community-based resilience approaches, and regional collaboration as possible strategies.

Climate finance and colonial legacies

Participants linked present-day climate vulnerabilities to colonial legacies, debt burdens, and unequal global power dynamics. Concerns were raised about:

• limited access to climate finance for non-independent Caribbean territories;
• dependence on former colonial powers for funding access;
• the continued imbalance between Caribbean climate impacts and international responses.

Participants also stressed the importance of stronger regional coordination and advocacy on climate justice issues.

Inclusion and language justice

Participants noted the importance of making climate discussions accessible across the Caribbean’s linguistic and cultural diversity.

This included calls for:

• interpretation and multilingual engagement;
• clearer communication with communities;
• ensuring information is accessible and understandable for non-technical audiences.

8. Closing reflections and next steps

The session concluded with reflections from participants, many of whom described the webinar as:

• informative,
• engaging,
• thought-provoking,
• refreshing,
• and eye-opening.

Participants were encouraged to continue participating throughout the webinar series and to engage with the work of the Caribbean Climate Justice Alliance.

Upcoming sessions in the series include:

• Centring Human Rights in Climate Justice
• Women and LGBTQI+ Persons’ Lived Experiences of Climate Injustice
• Rural Communities and Natural Resource Users’ Lived Experiences of Climate Injustice

The webinar closed with a reminder of the importance of strengthening regional solidarity, amplifying the voices of communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis, and continuing collective efforts toward climate justice in the Caribbean.