A Caribbean agenda towards climate care justice

The Caribbean is threatened by climate change, with tangible impacts on the economy, biodiversity, and social fabric. Urgent climate adaptation and mitigation measures are necessary to mitigate the impacts of climate change and climate disasters on the deterioration of natural resources, health, agricultural production, and infrastructure (ECLAC, 2023a). As part of the Small Island Developing States (SIDS), the region is shaped not only by environmental exposure but also by centuries of colonialism, slavery and racism, gender inequality, and economic dependency.These historical structures of exclusion amplify the region’s vulnerability and limit its adaptive capacity.

In this context, care is not merely a social function; it is a survival strategy, a hidden social infrastructure that has sustained life, memory, and resilience. Care has enabled Caribbean communities to resist domination, rebuild after hurricanes, and maintain collective life amid economic shocks and forced displacements. Acknowledging the essential role that women have historically played in sustaining the resilience of our community structures requires questioning and transforming the unequal distribution of unpaid domestic and care work. Building resilient societies demands care systems that are socially recognized, economically supported, and equitably shared (UN Women and ECLAC, 2021).

Care work plays a crucial role in environmental sustainability, and the criticality of caring for our planet is increasingly recognized as a critical dimension of sustainable development. These perspectives were emphasized at the Caribbean Academic Forum and this brief builds upon that message and argues that the Caribbean is not only a region highly exposed to the consequences of climate change but also an epistemic territory that offers valuable insights through a paradigm of interdependence, solidarity, and memory.