Ja to list Caribbean’s first green stock bond
Published:Tuesday | October 8, 2019 | 12:17 AMNickoy Wilson/Gleaner Writer
Jamaica has been given the go-ahead to list the first-ever Caribbean green bond on the stock market, which will be used to raise money to fund environment-friendly projects.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness made the announcement yesterday while speaking at the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Private Investment for Climate Change Conference in Incheon, South Korea.
The GCF, which gave the approval, was established in 2010 as a global platform to respond to climate change by investing in low-emission and climate-resilient development.
Holness says Jamaica will continue to be global advocates for the increased mobilisation of public and private finance for mitigation and adaptation to climate change.
“We reiterate our support for a successful replenishment of the Green Climate Fund, which is today the most important institution that channels climate finance to developing countries, and we will continue playing our role of regulator and market maker to attract more private sector investment into the green economy,” he said.
The prime minister said for a small island developing country like Jamaica, climate change is not an academic issue.
“With hotter temperatures, coastal encroachment, shorter and more intense periods of rainfall, longer and more intense periods of drought, and more frequent and destructive hurricanes, climate change is our daily reality. For us, climate change spells disaster.
“The physical damage and human suffering visited upon countries like The Bahamas, Dominica, and Antigua and Barbuda is well told. The fiscal and economic damage, however, is not as well known. Climate-related shocks, whether sharp and swift hurricanes or lingering and debilitating droughts, have a long-term effect, particularly on economic growth trajectory and the public debt of small developing states and least developed countries,” he said.
The prime minister said climate change also limits the ability of small island developing states to implement effective policy response.