Excerpt from barbadostoday.bb

Authorities in Barbados and other Caribbean states need to give more youth a seat at the table of decision-making and rely more on local talent when addressing issues such as climate change.

This call has come from climate change specialist Dr Masaō Ashtine, who insisted the region could also benefit from a reform of the education system if leaders were serious about tackling the climate crisis.

“I think there is a large disparity especially in climate change [and] renewable energy education. Having been a lecturer at Mona (University of the West Indies) in Jamaica, I have seen first-hand that the opportunity does not exist in many capacities, and it is not any one person’s or organisation’s fault, it is a collection, a legacy of things,” said Ashtine.

Ashtine’s comments came as he responded to a question during the official opening of the Virtual Island Summit 2022, which is being hosted by Island Innovation, a social and full-service agency that brings together private sector, government, utilities and non-governmental organisations and universities to advance innovation for sustainability.