Gov’t continues to prioritise disaster risk financing for Jamaica
Published:Thursday | October 17, 2024 | 7:14 PM
Prime Minister, Dr Andrew Holness, says the Government continues to prioritise disaster risk financing to strengthen Jamaica's ability to respond to and recover from natural disasters.
He said these financial measures will enable the Government to manage and recover from the impact of frequent weather events associated with climate change that would, in other circumstances, derail national plans and programmes.
“We have taken an entirely different approach to the management of your affairs. So what we have done is to create buffers in our budget to be able to address the high frequency but low severity [weather] events,” Holness said.
“Previously, what used to happen was… we used to borrow. A large part of why the debt became high was because we were always being hit by these weather events and we [couldn't] budget for it because we [didn't] have the economic growth to do it, so we [had] to go and borrow. Every storm, every rain, every flood, every road that got washed away, there [was] some borrowing that [took] place. So you see why managing climate change is important.”
He was addressing the inaugural International Climate Change Conference at the University of Technology (UTech) in Papine, St Andrew, today.
Holness reiterated the Government's proactive steps taken to fortify Jamaica's ability to respond to and recover from disasters. These include establishing a Disaster Recovery Fund and a Contingency Fund.
He said the Government is also participating in and has embarked on other initiatives, such as the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) and the Catastrophe Bond.
“So if a major event were to occur, we would have access immediately to a high level of financing to be able to address it,” Holness assured.
The prime minister encouraged persons to educate themselves about climate change and related issues, and the negative impact these are having on their lives, including drought, rising temperatures and sea levels, and flooding.
He also urged universities to play a greater role in informing the public about issues as well as combatting the high level of prevailing misinformation.
“Climate change ought to be an issue for the common man as well as for our intellectual elites because it cuts all facets of society; it is something that affects our lives in every single way. Climate change is one of the most pressing global challenges of our time and represents an existential threat to Small Island Developing States (SIDS) like Jamaica,” the prime minister emphasised.
“Climate change is not a distant threat; it is here now. Climate change is not something that is happening to us; climate change is what we are doing.”
Holness maintained that the climate is changing more rapidly than projected and anticipated, by virtue of human activities.
“Clearly, over the last 100 to 150 years, we were never consuming as much fossil fuel as we are now, we weren't clearing the forests as rapidly as we are now, we weren't practising the kind of agriculture that would change the content of carbon and other global warming chemicals and gases in our air. So we are having an impact on our climate. In effect, we are causing an existential threat to ourselves,” he further stated.
The prime minister said despite commitments from larger nations for climate financing to address mitigation and adaptation, particularly for SIDs, Jamaica remains resolute in its stance to create the economic independence to address the issues related to climate activities.
“Jamaica has done very well in terms of its nationally determined contributions to the whole climate change issue, trying to make sure that we meet the 1.5 [degrees Celsius] goal. Outside of that, Jamaica has to take responsibility for itself. My administration is one that believes in self-resilience,” Holness said.
“If somebody's good grace or conscience comes through, [that's] great. But every Jamaican must stand on their own two feet and face the world… don't wait on anybody. That has been my view on climate change issues. We are going to fight to get them, but we are not waiting on them. Therefore, in our resource plan, we believe in building buffers in our Budget.”
Meanwhile, the prime minister said Jamaica will continue to advocate for greater global engagement to tackle issues associated with climate change.
“There are those of us who are thinking in an enlightened way, that we should restructure the way in which to administer global and national affairs to redirect financing in ways that support the climate. That's what this issue of climate financing is about… whether or not it will work and the developed countries will be able to make the allocations from their budget relative to what their electorate feels,” Holness said.
“It would only work [if] there is a very robust international movement that keeps calling for it and pricking that conscience and morality… and it's constantly being done; that's part of my job.”
Against this background, the prime minister commended UTech, specifically the Faculty of Built Environment, for hosting the two-day climate conference, which will focus on, among other things, adaptation and mitigation strategies for Jamaica and the region.
Other speakers included Minister of Education and Youth, Fayval Williams; UTech President, Dr Kevin Brown; Faculty Dean, Dr Laurence Neufville; postgraduate Programme Director, Professor Garfield Young; and Associate Professor, Dr Glendon Newsome.
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