The Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) welcomes the United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s expressed openness to a formal apology for slavery on behalf of the British state, as reported in the UK newspaper The Guardian.
While his offer of a ‘structured dialogue’ and ‘honest conversation’ is welcome, for that dialogue to be meaningful, reparations, including financial reparations, must remain on the table. The discussions must not only address the UK’s moral responsibility for its role in four hundred years of Indigenous genocide, African chattel enslavement and violent extractive colonialism but must also translate that recognition into concrete commitments by considering what forms meaningful reparations must take.
The Caribbean’s contemporary environmental degradation and vulnerability to climate change are shaped by the legacies of historic colonialism and reinforced by extractive economic systems that perpetuate unequal power relations. Colonial legacies are seen in ecosystems degraded by plantations and continued resource extraction that reduce opportunities to use nature-based solutions for climate adaptation. Colonial legacies are reinforced through climate and development financing models that increase debt burdens while limiting investment in resilience. Colonial legacies shape the structural inequities and marginalisation experienced by frontline communities that are disproportionately exposed to climate hazards and pollution. These enduring inequities and injustices restrict opportunities and possibilities for the Caribbean to respond to the existential challenges climate change poses to its development.
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Ten-Point Plan for Reparations was revised in 2026 to include climate justice, in recognition of the connection between historical harms and present-day environmental challenges. This provides a regional framework for reparations that addresses climate and environmental consequences of colonialism alongside the broader social and economic impacts.
As leaders of former British colonies gather alongside other Commonwealth leaders at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in St John’s, Antigua and Barbuda from November 1-4, 2026, CANARI supports all efforts to advance reparatory justice, including measures to address the Caribbean’s enduring climate and environmental injustices.
CANARI calls on the United Kingdom to ensure its proposed dialogue translates recognition of past wrongs into concrete commitments, including financial commitments, that respond to Caribbean people’s needs and priorities. CANARI also calls on Caribbean governments to ensure that ecosystem restoration, locally led adaptation for community resilience, inclusive and environmentally sustainable economic models, and equitable access to climate finance are at the centre of their advocacy for reparatory justice.
About CANARI:
The Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) is a regional technical non-profit institute which has been working across the Caribbean islands for more than 30 years. Our mission is to promote and facilitate stakeholder participation in the stewardship of natural resources in the Caribbean. For more information, see: http://www.canari.org/
Source: Antigua News Room Group says Reparations must address environmental and climate justice for the Caribbean.