Jamaican Economy Panel Climate Resilience in Jamaica Calls for Mitigation and Adaptation

In this discussion, the JEP was asked questions on Climate Resilience in Jamaica and asked to share their perspectives on what can be done to mitigate and adapt to the ever-changing climate situation. Dr. Nadine McLoud, Head Department of Economics, University of the West Indies Mona highlights the body of evidence that confirms that Jamaica will not fare well against climate change if it does not execute robust immediacy policies to mitigate its crippling effects.

Jamaica’s SDG performance in relation to climate resilience is noteworthy. Jamaica ranks 83 out of 163 for its overall performance. Its rank is considerably higher than the regional average, which is 69.5.

Jamaica is among the "top 20 countries most vulnerable to natural disasters." The negative impact of climate change puts the island in an even more perilous position with the increased frequency of storms and droughts.  In the past few years, Jamaica has made serious progress in the context of climate resilience, however, it can go further.

“The largely exogenous nature of acute and chronic climate-change events that we will encounter, begs the need for expansion and immediate action at all levels of the economy of our climate resilience toolkit,” Dr. McLoud said.

According to UN Senior Economist Stuart Davies, Jamaica maintains well-placed opportunities for climate financing.

“Jamaica is well placed to build on the momentum of its CAT bond to enhance innovative financing that increases the funds available for building climate resilience while enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of climate financing,” Dr. Davies said.  

“Bankrolling resilience is costly and thus, given our limited resources, requires orthodox and unorthodox financing mechanisms, among other things, for Jamaica to achieve an acceptable level of climate change resilience,” Dr. McLoud added.

Accelerating progress in climate resilience requires and demands that we rethink public-private partnerships and cooperation.

“Strengthened cooperation and partnerships among the government, civil society, International Financial Institutions, and the private sector would expedite climate resilience in Jamaica. Also, adopting a multistakeholder approach would further promote collaboration and unity around policies to counteract the effects of climate change on the island,” commented Dr. Garry Conille, United Nations Resident Coordinator said.

For more information on the Jamaican Economy Panel and for the results of this JEP discussion visit here.