Summary

This chapter looks at the barriers for low carbon sea transport solutions for SIDS.

Key Themes: Policy Barriers – Perception – Financing Barriers – Visibility

Sea transport is the lifeline of SIDS. With no land borders, island countries are arguably more dependent on sea transport than any other countries. A lack of adequate, reliable and affordable shipping is a major impediment to socio-economic development. Despite sea transport being an obvious and essential basic need for many oceanic communities, development of low carbon sea transport solutions for SIDS has not been considered a priority to date. If change is to be effected at a scale sufficient to make a measurable difference, it is essential that the barriers to transitioning to low carbon sea transport are understood.