Editorial |The urgency of tackling climate change

The October 2018 publication of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report makes grim reading and is a call for urgent action from world leaders. This urgency is reinforced by the fact that 2017 was the hottest year on record and that emissions of greenhouse gases show no sign of abating. Since the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, there have been a number of decidedly negative developments undermining climate change action. The most significant is the rapid emergence of populist nationalism as a political force, partly in response to the recent large scale movement of people across the globe in the face of drought, civil wars and ethnic conflicts.

The recent rise of the populist agenda globally is diverting attention from the critical challenges of climate change. The US President has already signalled his intention to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, and others, like President-elect Bolsonaro of Brazil, intend to follow.

The Paris Agreement of 2015 called for signatories to take action to hold the increase in global average temperature below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2050 and to pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Most scientists, however, agree that the undertaking is inadequate. If every nation fulfilled their specific pledges, the global temperature will still rise by above 3.5 degree Celsius. Given that the current effects we are experiencing from climate change is due to only a 1 degree Celsius rise, it becomes clear that a 3.5 degrees rise would be catastrophic.

FIRES AND FLOODS

Global warming above 1.5 degrees Celsius will likely doom low-laying islands and coastal countries and cities, including Jamaica. Current climate models incorporating droughts, fires and floods, are showing that scientists were previously underestimating how broad and deadly the effects will be.

The good news is that despite the many setbacks, significant progress is bring made. The price of a kilowatt generated by the sun or wind has fallen sharply and these are now the cheapest sources of new power capacity across much of the globe. Battery storage technology has progressed steadily to confront one of the obstacles to solar power. Vast investment in renewable energy is bring undertaken, particularly in China and India.

However, these changes are insufficient to keep the planet below the critical 2 degrees Celsius by 2050. There is need for many big, bold ideas to achieve a paradigm shift to low-emission and climate-resilient development driven by innovation and investments. The upcoming Climate Change meeting in Katowice, Poland December 2-14, to review COP24, is critical for Jamaica and the rest of the world to demonstrate the absolute seriousness and urgency that is needed to accelerate the needed transformation.

RENEWABLE INVESTMENT

Jamaica is close to realising its initial goal of 20 per cent of electricity generation coming from renewables. The great achievements of the Wigton Wind Farm over the years, has given the government the confidence to put the company up for divestment. This newspaper hopes that part of the proceeds from that divestment will be reinvested into additional renewable investment or climate change mitigation infrastructure.

Prime Minister Holness and his Minister of Finance have been making the right sounds about the need for action on climate change. Policies for mitigation and building resilience into our ecosystem are bring prepared. And there are serious engagements with the international community for funding. While these are important statements of intent, we have to hold ministers to account.

Serious investment to deal with climate change is very costly and the payback period is very long. They tend to be less favoured than white-elephants with short term political benefits at ribbon cutting.

The Green Climate Fund offers real opportunities for Jamaican institutions, entrepreneurs, innovators and government bodies to collaborate to access resources that can be leveraged for critical investments in research and infrastructure to achieve low-carbon emission and climate resilient sustainable development.