Climate change action needed urgently

Opposition spokesperson on Land, Environment and Climate Change Senator Sophia Frazer-Binns has renewed a call for Jamaica’s water resources to be strengthened by legislation that would make rainwater harvesting compulsory for all major building developments.

Frazer-Binns was speaking at ‘Uncut Conversations on Climate Change 2022’ at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel, St Andrew, under the theme ‘Implementing the Paris Agreement: Progress, Process, Proof, People and Partnerships’.

She argued for much more to be done to bring the construction industry in line with climate-friendly practices, pointing out that despite the Building Act being passed in 2018, it is still pegged to an outdated building code, because the necessary modern code is yet to be passed.

“Environmental protection is everybody’s business, so we have to work together to build climate resilience, adaptability and, indeed, ensure our own survival. The fact is that nature has changed, the question is, are we willing to change too?” Frazer-Binns asked.

She recounted the recent rainfall and subsequent flooding which resulted in the deaths of two persons as a vivid example of the impact of climate change, declaring that everyone must become involved in the conversation.

WE NEED ALL HANDS ON DECK

“It must be participatory, because we need all hands on deck if we are to stem the tide. The conversation must be about the people because, as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes said in its sixth global assessment, it is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land.

HUMAN INTERVENTION

“It will take human effort and human intervention to stem the tide; so people, we just have to fix it. The fact is that as a country, our capital, Kingston, is projected to hit climate departure next year and we must do everything to stave off this real threat,” Frazer-Binns said.

She reiterated a call made by Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton in 2015 that laws should be passed, making it compulsory for developers to include in their building applications, information on how they would harvest and store rainwater for use during the life of the project.

The legislation, Tufton had proposed, would also speak to the incorporation of features such as guttering on individual buildings, to ensure that water conservation becomes a part of the Jamaican culture going forward.

He argued then that such legislation was overdue, citing the Government’s failure to examine and report back on a resolution passed in the Senate from March 1, 2013, on legislating rainwater harvesting.

“This is yet another example of a country that gives lip service to sustainable development, while citizens have to experience the hardships from a water crisis each year. We have heard nothing of the resolution since then, and as is customary, we act surprised that we are in another water-shortage crisis, even though we have this situation each year,” Tufton said.

Acknowledging that this additional cost might prove a deterrent for some investors, Tufton said one has to look at the bigger picture of the emotional distress and financial fallout the country is now experiencing.

“If you look at the cost of the drought in downtime to production, school closures, just the hardships in communities where they don’t have water – people can’t send their children to school, they can’t go to work. It’s far greater, I think, than any costs associated with properly designing a rainwater harvesting system from the start,” he said.

christopher.serju@gleanerjm.com