The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

The Chamber of Commerce next year plans to “champion the cause of climate change” awareness and its impact on Bahamian business and livelihoods, its chief executive has revealed.

Jeffery Beckles, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC) chief executive, told Tribune Business: “The chamber in 2020 will champion the cause of climate change - how has it has impacted us, and the importance in changing our narrative on the way we do business and also how we change the way we live.

“We also need to be aware of how to prepare for hurricanes and how do we build stronger. Examining the way we live, what we do in Abaco and East End Grand Bahama is going to have a large impact on all of the other islands, as we would hope to use those best practices on other islands, even for New Providence and the capital.

“We have to seriously look at the cost of converting and strengthening the other islands in preparation for more and stronger hurricanes. We can mitigate the extent of damage we experience. It’s all about setting a long-term plan, and we may be doing this for over the next 20 years. This is more than just a five to ten-year build-out for Grand Bahama and Abaco, but a long-term one for the entire Bahamas.”

Gregory LaRoda, the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce’s president, said Bahamians needed to take the consequences of climate change more seriously given that this nation is among those likely to be most affected by global warming and rising sea levels.

“You cannot help but notice that hurricanes are coming more and more frequently to The Bahamas,” he added. “I think it has something to do with climate change. We all need to take it more serious as I firmly believe in climate change affecting our hurricane patterns.”

“We [at the chamber] don’t have a specific programme running as it relates to arresting climate change, but we do encourage wherever we can in promoting where to be more aware of it, along with being more cognisant of the effects of what you are doing.”

Mr LaRoda said the GB Chamber viewed climate change more from an economic standpoint as the numbers “point you in the direction of more renewable energy usage. The benefit of it is it helps with mitigating greenhouse gas effects”.