Earlier this month, 195 countries at COP21 came together to form the Paris Agreement, a treaty to combat climate change and target actions and investment towards a low carbon, resilient, and sustainable future.

The agreement seeks to offer protection to small, low-lying islands such as the Cayman Islands, by delineating plans to keep global warming “well below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels” and pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Cayman Minister of Environment Wayne Panton says the Paris agreement will provide a guiding framework for the British Overseas Territory in attempts to reduce its carbon footprint.

“The treaty calls for a special report in 2018 on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C and that report could provide some important information for Cayman in terms of the measures needed to address the effects of climate change,” he said. “Prior to the Agreement, the Cayman…