Increased Access To Climate Finance

The Government has increased access to climate finance and finalised the development of Jamaica’s country programme for engagement with the Green Climate Fund, with a pipeline of projects totalling more than US$200 million.

This investment, which was done in 2019, will help to improve access for funding climate investments in both adaptation and mitigation actions.

Additionally, the Government developed tools to incorporate climate-associated-risk considerations in public-private partnerships (PPP) for investments in infrastructure.

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, gave details in his Budget presentation on Thursday (March 19), in the House of Representatives.

“Climate change has long transitioned from merely an environmental issue to an economic challenge and has the power to reverse any progress on poverty alleviation and sustained economic growth. While we see and experience first-hand, the devastating effects, we are now more than ever working assiduously to build our national capacity and put measures in place to effectively respond to its associated risks,” Mr. Holness said.

The Prime Minister also announced that with regard to climate change, Jamaica met all reporting obligations under the UNFCCC Convention and the Paris Agreement.

“Recognising our commitments under the Paris Agreement, and the urgency of the global climate crisis, we are currently updating and expanding Jamaica’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) – a document which sets out to the international community, the actions Jamaica will take to address climate change,” he said.

“This will allow us to increase the ambition of our NDC, with the next version expanding its focus from the energy sector to also include the forestry sector. Initial indications suggest that the forestry sector will be able to absorb 30 per cent more emissions as a result of our ambitious policy commitments in this sector,” the Prime Minister said.