Post-Colonial Institutional Arrangements and Climate Adaptation Planning in the French Overseas Department of Guadeloupe
20 Pages Posted: 3 Jan 2025
Date Written: November 17, 2024
Abstract
Several Caribbean countries are now non-sovereign overseas jurisdictions of nations they once belonged to as colonies. With increased sea-level rise, coastal erosion, and more due to climate change, it is unclear how extensively post-colonial arrangements-which situate them in the Global North politically-influence these countries' response to climate-related threats, particularly as small island developing states. Consider that France contributes significantly to global climate financing mechanisms. However, French Caribbean overseas departments such as Guadeloupe or Martinique cannot leverage specific global climate financing mechanisms-given their geopolitical association with mainland France-even as their realities are more akin to other eligible countries in the Global South. Therefore, this paper aims to evaluate multi-level institutional frameworks that bear on climate adaptation efforts, specifically in the French Caribbean, with Guadeloupe as the site of analysis. In doing so, the goal is to identify additional gaps (or potential opportunities) regarding the institutional and climate governance realities unique to non-sovereign European Union (EU) territories. Using multi-level governance theory as an analytical framework, this preliminary desktop study contextualizes the pursuance of climate change response measures in Guadeloupe as an Outermost Region of the EU and, relatedly, as a member of the French outremer. In this way, the paper endeavors to enhance geopolitical discussions concerning existing and emerging supranational climate financing, adaptation, and implementation mechanisms for non-sovereign EU territories, broadly speaking, to promote greater inclusivity of countries outside of traditional nation-state boundaries on a global scale.
Keywords: climate finance, climate adaptation, multi-level governance, outremer, French Caribbean
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation