From (L-R): UnaMay Gordon, principal director, Climate Change Division in MEGJC; , Katherine Blackman, climate finance advisor, Climate Change Division; Daryl Vaz, minister without portfolio in MEGJC; Laetitia De Marez, Director, Climate Change Analytics Inc; Frances Fuller, deputy director, Climate Change Analytics Inc; and in the background Paolo Cozzi, implementation specialist, Climate Change Analytics Inc. In their hand are copies of the document detailing Jamaica’s first country programme for engagement with the Green Climate Fund (GCF). (Photos: Michael Gordon)
As Jamaica gets climate-ready and also commits to its obligation under the Paris Agreement, the country has recently launched a Green Climate Fund to give additional support to the climate financing landscape.
Speaking at the official launch of the fund at the Climate Action 2020 Agenda held on Wednesday last at the AC Hotel, UnaMay Gordon, principal director of the Climate Change Division (CCD) in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation (MEGJC), said that the fund will give countries access to resources needed to support climate action.
“We have accessed a number of grants, to date five from the GCF. This programme today is a GCF programme; it doesn’t mean that there are not other institutions and financial mechanisms that give resources to climate action, but today the focus is on the resources that we have received and the programme that we are implementing. We have received US$300,000 for the starting of the fund. These grants aim to strengthen capacity and to build frameworks around climate action,” she told the Jamaica Observer.
Daryl Vaz, minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation with responsibility for the Land, Environment, Climate Change and Investment, said that a fund such as this is very relevant given the increased effects of climate change from which the country has began to suffer. He further cites funding as one of the most important considerations when planning for climate action.
“When thinking about the plan for climate action, one of the most important considerations for all involved is funding. The Government of Jamaica has been advancing climate action in many different ways, including budgetary allocations from the government coiffeurs as well as those from bilateral and multilateral partners that are partnering with us in this regard.”
“Bearing this in mind, we embarked on a process that will, over time, increase our capacity and ability to access more climate finance. The development of Jamaica’s first country programme of engagement with the GCF is just one of the outputs of this process,” he said.
Vaz also highlighted that the country is also seeking to develop other proposals to secure access to funding, needed to offset climate change action.
“We anticipate using the country programme mechanism to develop some near-targeted proposals to access funding. The preparation of the country programme and other activities has been made possible through the readiness grants of the GCF. At present we are implementing three readiness grants with an improved amount of US$1.4 million. Jamaica is also working towards having national entities directly having access to GCF resources,” he stated.
Vaz used the opportunity to also highlight Prime Minister Andrew Holness’s recent announcement while in Korea, where he noted that the country has been given the green light to list the first-ever Caribbean Green Bond on the stock market.
“I continue to be excited that our prime minister, on his recent visit to the Republic of South Korea for the 2019 GCF private investment climate conference, accepted the formal letter of approval for the grant to support activities towards listing a green bond on the Jamaican Stock Exchange,” Vaz mentioned.
The GCF is part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) financial mechanism, which assists with developing countries’ climate change adaptation and mitigation practices.
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