Solid waste management another of Jamaica’s key focus at the conference

The Government of Jamaica will be placing unlocking financing for adaptation to impact climate change at the forefront of discussions at the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 27).

At the event, which will be held from November 6 to 18 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, Jamaica will be calling for adaptation financing commitments to be met and for the harmonisation and removal of barriers to access this finance, says Senator Matthew Samuda, minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation.

COP 27 facilitates the meeting of countries to take action towards achieving the world’s collective climate goals as agreed under the Paris Agreement and Convention. At COP, the developing world plans to raise its collective voices and demand significantly more resources for adaptation.

SEVERAL TARGETS ON CLIMATE CHANGE AGENDA

Samuda has indicated that Jamaica will also place on the agenda of the conference the issue of solid waste management and loss and damage within the context of climate change.

Pointing out that the Government of Jamaica is taking its commitments to the climate change response seriously, Samuda reported that several targets have been placed on the country’s climate change agenda, among them the increase of the target for the use of renewable energy from 30 per cent to 50 per cent by 2030.

Jamaica surpasses land mass protection target

Addressing the Acorn Climate Summit 2022 on Monday at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in St Andrew, the minister explained that Jamaica has achieved 25 per cent land mass protection and is moving towards achieving 30 per cent protection in 2025 or earlier. Jamaica had given a commitment for [30 per cent by 2030].

Samuda stated that this target will be surpassed and then the Government will have to submit updated targets.

The Summit, held under the theme ‘Climate Departure and Resilience – Is Jamaica Ready for the Journey’, aimed to raise awareness among stakeholders about the need for urgent action on climate change.

In her remarks at the Summit, European Union Ambassador to Jamaica, Marianne Van Steen indicated that while the developed countries are the major contributor to global warming and climate change, small island developing states (SIDS), such as Jamaica, are feeling the worst impacts.

She encouraged the Summit to seek to address these concerns, noting that mitigation, adaptation and climate finance will form the central themes of discussions at COP 27.