This background paper explores how the Caribbean's colonial past continues to shape its present-day climate vulnerability and development challenges. 

Drawing on a decolonial perspective, the paper argues that resilience cannot be understood solely as adaptation to environmental change but must also address the historical legacies of colonialism, slavery, and extractive development. 

It examines how reparatory justice, ecological stewardship, and new approaches to governance can help redefine resilience, offering a framework that links climate action with equity, justice, and transformative development pathways for the Caribbean and other Small Island Developing States (SIDS).