It can be argued that when CDERA (now CDEMA) was formed 27 years ago, terms such as climate change and global warming were mere abstractions to the average person in the Caribbean. Indeed, given that the majority of the Caribbean Islands and CDEMA’s 18 participating states are geographically located within the hurricane belt, the focus at the local and regional level was mainly, and somewhat narrowly, on the direct impact and effects of tropical weather systems in the Atlantic Hurricane Season between the months of June and November.