Coastal Erosion/Sea Level Threats

Although being a relatively small pair of islands, Trinidad and Tobago suffers from severe pollution and climate change. Due to them being a small island nation, means they are extremely affected by global warming and the current rising sea level. The potential rising sea level serves as a great threat to Trinidad & Tobago, as we foresee, if this continues unchecked, this could continue to erode the coast of Trinidad and Tobago, swallowing up its coast. 

Air Pollution Threats

However, coastal erosion is not the only threat to Trinidad & Tobago. Trinidad & Tobago's status as a large energy exporter and industrial nation causes severe pollution problems. Due to the amount of factories and energy facilities, they suffer from detrimental air pollution and emissions of greenhouse gasses. 

Marine Pollution

Trinidad & Tobago also suffers from a large amount of marine pollution. This is because of the large amount of plastic waste on the island. Trinidad & Tobago is a large importer of plastic goods and their infrastructure does not accommodate or incentivize proper disposal of plastic waste. This leads to them disposing it via burning, or disposing of it in the water, which leads to further marine and air pollution.

Health/Productivity Concerns

Due to air and marine pollution, this puts civilians and workers at increased risk of disease, unsanitary working conditions and a higher risk of cancer. While pollution affects the environment, it also affects the workers and the residents of Trinidad & Tobago. This will lead to workers being less productive and less willing to work in bad conditions.

Tourism Industry Concerns

Although Trinidad & Tobago is primarily a energy exporter, a large part of their economy is fueled by tourism as well. With the rising pollution of the water and air, tourists are less willing to come out of fear of disease or sickness due to this pollution. This, if left unchecked, can lead to severe economic recession as one of the fundamental industries of Trinidad & Tobago steeply declines.

Infrastructure and Government Spending

Trinidad & Tobago's recent rising coastline has had a detrimental impact on infrastructure and government outlays. Due to the coastline rising, flooding has been on the rise with a recent statistic claiming 80% of Trinidad & Tobago's landmass was affected by recent floods. These floods can cause potential housing displacement, injury or casualties for many Trinidad & Tobago citizens decreasing productivity, and citizen's ability to work. Furthermore, the government is responsible for the impact of infrastructure and also providing support for those citizens. These government outlays can lead to less money for the government to reinvest into stronger infrastructure along with the main drivers of the economy being injured, sick or unable to work.

• https://caribois.org/2025/04/a-look-at-recent-natural-disasters-in-trinidad-and-tobago/

• https://caribois.org/2024/12/a-look-at-the-climate-vulnerabilities-of-trinidad-and-tobagos-coasts/

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floods_in_Trinidad_and_Tobago

• https://newsday.co.tt/2019/06/06/no-fresh-air-to-breathe/

• https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/04/1148966

• https://www.mpu.gov.tt/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/National-Integrated-Solid-Waste-Policy-Web-vr.pdf

• https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/tri105224.pdf

• https://gottbs.com/2023/12/12/the-circular-economy