Dear Editor,

The first Global Supply Chain Forum, held this year in Bridgetown, Barbados, covered topics such as ‘Climate change mitigation and energy transition’ and ‘Unlocking opportunities for green shipping in the Caribbean’. It also focused on resilience and sustainability, strengthening global trade through seaports and global collaboration.

The discussion included challenges associated with global trade, namely climate change, pandemics, and geopolitical turmoil in small island developing states (SIDS), especially the Caribbean.

Owing to our connectedness, actions of world organisations impact the globalised world. Therefore, mindfulness of our vulnerabilities must be known and collaboration sought to achieve a sustainable future.

According to Rebeca Grynspan, secretary general of the UN Trade and Development, “A greater, more fair, more sustainable, more inclusive story of globalisation must start in the supply chains…”

Climate change affects the Caribbean in varying ways. The water levels in the Panama Canal are an example. Rainfall has reduced and thus the passage of ships, from 36 to 24 ships at a time. It delays arrival of vital supplies into the region and disrupts the supply chain, affecting manufacturing, health care, etc.

The UN Trade & Development stated that 80 per cent of global trade is shipping, which contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. The forum highlighted the global need to reduce this and launched the Manifesto for Intermodal, Low-Carbon, Efficient and Resilient Freight Transport and Logistics.

Ports were highlighted to being integral to the change, where management authorities may incentivise, create frameworks around low or zero carbon fuels, and develop port-readiness assessment tools for sustainable operations. It is a transformative approach to freight transportation to meet global climate goals and bolster socio-economic resilience through logistics systems optimisation and sustainable value chain creation.

These proposals and declarations must drive our governments to retreat from unsustainability and despair. Accountability among SIDS and large states must be enforced for these objectives to be achieved.

Jamaica must ensure that infrastructure is current with the recent best practices in shipping and logistics for efficiency, resilience, amid competitiveness.

These aspirations must be effected before the next Global Supply Chain Forum in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2026.

Danique Crossfield

Michanie Blake

Yasheka Stevens

Suzette Sewell

Howard Wolfe

Students MSc. Logistics and Supply Chain Management

The University of the West Indies, Mona