The negative effects of climate change in tourism industry? Increased precipitation, especially in the form of heavy rain events, will increase flooding risks. These changes will have a range of impacts for tourism and recreation

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley has been named among the TIME100 Climate, a new list of the world’s most influential leaders driving business to real climate action. The list, which was revealed by TIME on November 16, 2023, comprises climate change catalysts, leaders, titans, innovators and defenders.

The Prime Minister has emerged as a global leader in the fight against climate change, especially for the vulnerable small island developing states (SIDS) in the Caribbean region. She has been vocal and passionate about the urgent need for action and justice for the frontline communities that are facing the devastating impacts of the climate crisis.

She has also taken concrete steps to make Barbados a model of green and resilient development. Under her watch, the country has developed an ambitious plan to phase out fossil fuels by 2030 and transition to 100% renewable energy. Her vision is for nearly every home on the island to have solar panels on the roof and an electric vehicle out front.

Mottley is one of the world’s most vocal advocates for wealthy nations and historic polluters to support the most vulnerable countries facing permanent loss or damages from climate change. As she wrote for TIME, “We are not prepared to be climate refugees. We want to live in the homes of our ancestors and our foreparents. We want to live in the communities that we have built up. We want to live in our countries that we have worked hard to develop”.

She has also urged governments and private sector leaders to take immediate action on addressing climate change. She spoke at the 14th Annual Meeting of the New Champions as part of a panel on ‘Braving the Headwinds: Rewiring Growth Amid Fragility’. She stressed that addressing the climate crisis requires both public and private investments, as well as facilitating flows of capital between developed and developing countries.

The Prime Minister is also leading the global fight for a new global financing pact, which aims to reform the way wealthier countries finance poorer countries in a climate crisis. The Bridgetown Initiative, named after the island’s capital city, calls for emergency liquidity to mitigate the debt crisis faced by many countries and expand multilateral lending by $1 trillion. The project has been compared to the Marshall Plan, the 1948 US aid programme that helped Western Europe recover after World War II.

She has been the Prime Minister of Barbados since 2018 and the leader of the Barbados Labour Party. She is the first woman to hold both positions. She has also been supportive of Barbados’ move away from its colonial past. Last year, the country officially removed Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state, opting instead to become a Republic and installed its first ever president, Dame Sandra Mason. Mottley also reiterated her goal of seeking reparations from colonizers.

It is this leadership and vision that have earned her global recognition and admiration, and was named as one of the TIME 100 most influential people of 2022 and as the UNEP Champion of the Earth for Policy Leadership in 2021. She has also inspired many young people and women to follow her example and become agents of change for a better future.