Five Cs Wins Award for Climate Leadership

As climate change continues to put small island states on the front lines, Belize is once again stepping into the global spotlight, this time through the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre, which just earned top honors at the UK–Belize Climate and Nature Legacy Awards. And tonight, Executive Director Dr. Colin Young says the recognition not only celebrates their hard‑won progress but also underscores how urgently the world needs to step up its climate response.

 

Dr. Colin Young, Executive Director, Caribbean Community Climate Change Center

“The Five Cs was the recipient of the Innovation in Climate Action and Diplomacy Award as well as the Policy and Governance Impact Award. And this was being given to recognize the work that the Five Cs does across the Caribbean region to mobilize climate finance to impact the lives and livelihoods of people across the region. And the award obviously mean a lot to the staff of the center because they’re the ones who make this very possible. But it also highlighted, Shane, the importance of partnership and strategic partnerships with governments like the United Kingdom. The support to the five Cs has enabled us to unlock tens of millions of dollars for people across the region to build resilience to climate change. And right now the five Cs work in fourteen countries across CARICOM. We are managing over four hundred and ten million Belize dollars across those countries and the support from the UK is going to help us to deliver another three hundred million on behalf of our countries across the region. So obviously the work is being done across our, the region on behalf of our governments. And so it’s very, you know, humbling to be able to get the recognition from a strategic partner like the UK.”