Charles: Too late to prevent impending disasters
Minister says adaptation talks key to building long-term resilience
Published:Wednesday | November 3, 2021 | 12:07 AMChristopher Serju/Senior Gleaner Writer
Getting concrete commitments on climate financing backed by strong action from developed countries is a must for Caribbean countries participating in the United Nations Climate Conference of the Parties (COP26), being held in Glasgow, Scotland, over the next two weeks.
Describing climate change as a complex scientific issue, Minister of Housing, Urban Renewal, Environment and Climate Change, Pearnel Charles Jr, who heads Jamaica’s delegation, believes it may be too late for countries like Jamaica.
“No matter what we do at COP, we are already too far down the road to stop the flooding and hurricanes that are coming in the next two to five years, and so we have to prepare for that, and that’s what adaptation financing is about,” he told The Gleaner on Tuesday.
Charles said that discussions on loss and damage are really geared at getting other countries to recognise the impact of climate events on smaller countries, which can be devastated by one event, such as was the case in Dominica, when it was slammed by Hurricane Maria in September 2017. At least seven persons died and a state of emergency was declared as the country was left with no means of communication and transportation connections to neighbouring islands in the wake of the disaster.
“The reason why we are here with such a very large delegation is to have a voice in the discussions around what other countries who are contributing to the greenhouse gas emissions – that are leading to the hurricanes and the droughts and the acidity of the ocean and the flooding – [need to acknowledge] so that they can stop what they are doing, which is impacting us. So Jamaica has been active in the discussions around adaptation, which is building up our activities now to protect our people and our island,” said the minister.
Charles said the absence of countries such as China and Russia, which are among the largest world’s largest users of fossil fuel, should not in any way detract from the impact of the discussions in which Jamaica has been integrally involved.
He noted that some of the countries whose leaders are absent have made commitments and are still supporting the global effort.
“We continue to encourage and discuss with them to bring across the urgency of now and the need to deliver on those commitments and I believe that we don’t have an option. For us, it’s a matter of determining how we are going to ensure that COP26 is successful,” he said.