Patricia Green | COP climate change Christmas presents

As we are in the holiday season, a festive time for most and a solemn time for many, I recall the carol made popular by Mario Lanza, “…We three kings of orient are, Bearing gifts we traverse afar, Field and fountain, Moor and mountain, Following yonder star…”. This carol may so easily be likened to the outcome of the recently concluded ‘Conference of the Parties’ 28th assembly (COP-28) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. COP28 was held from November 30 to December 13 and resulted in over US$85 billion pledged commitments.

Let us understand what is climate change? It is a scientific phenomenon which the UNFCCC suggests is primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas, which generates greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to behave like a blanket wrapping around the Earth. These gasses trap the sun’s heat and cause long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. The main GHGs include carbon dioxide and methane. Carbon dioxide gets released during clearing land and cutting down forests, whilst agriculture (large-scale), oil and gas operations are major sources of methane. The consequences of climate change include intense droughts, water scarcity, severe fires, rising sea levels, flooding, melting polar ice, catastrophic storms and declining biodiversity. As humans, we all have a responsibility to try stabilising GHG concentrations in the atmosphere.

It was in 1995 that COP01 began in Berlin, Germany, and formulated how to take action beyond the year 2000, because of increasing scientific evidence of global climate change. I believe that the COP meetings since then contain three special gifts through some key decisions that culminated in the pledges at COP28.

I consider the Kyoto Protocol as a first gift. Originating from the 1997 COP03 held in Kyoto, Japan, its Article 10 mentions the use of spatial planning to formulate, implement, publish and regularly update national and, where appropriate, regional programmes to mitigate and facilitate adequate adaptation to climate change. It recommended, for example, waste management and adaptation technologies. Incidentally, spatial planning is a core function of the National Environment and Planning Agency, which they define as an integrative and comprehensive approach to rationalise appropriate land use activities. On my wishlist as we enter 2024 is to appropriate spatial planning of the 2023 Kingston Confirmed Development Order to include management and adaptation of solid waste and gullies across the city.

VISION 2050

The second gift came as ‘Vision 2050’. Stemming from COP-15 that commenced 2020 in Kunming, China, then was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic and concluded 2022 in Montreal, Canada, it projected a world living in harmony with nature. Vision 2050 has four goals: (A) Protect and restore; (B) Prosper with nature; (C) Share benefits fairly; (D) Invest and collaborate. Its Target 12 ‘Enhance green spaces and urban planning for human well-being and biodiversity’ called for access to, and benefits from, green and blue spaces in urban and densely populated areas to improve human health and well-being through connections to nature.

On October 23, 2021, writing in The Gleaner ‘Jamaica in 2050 – Part 1: The turbulent years ahead’, Anthony Clayton stated that Caribbean nations are highly vulnerable to climate change because population centres with hotels, businesses, and transport infrastructure are mostly in coastal areas and susceptible to loss. Clayton remarked, “…Jamaica’s Vision 2030 plan gives no guidance as to how Jamaica should navigate such wrenching changes or build a new strategy for prosperity in a very different world…”. The November 1, Our Today ‘Vision and planning important in urban development, says expert’, reported development planning expert Eleanor Sharpe delivering the 2023 Maurice Facey Lecture, “…to achieve a desired future, one must first envision and plan for it rather than allow nature to run its course…”. On my Wishlist for 2024 is revisiting the Jamaica Vision 2030 to redress vulnerability of our cities, lest we perish.

The third gift is the ‘Paris Agreement’ stemming from the 2015 Paris, France, COP21. This proposed to limit global average temperature rise to 1.5°C. The Gleaner of November 2, 2022 reported Michael Taylor, head of the Climate Studies Group at The University of the West Indies, saying, Kingston could be among cities experiencing climate departure. This would have implications for the quality of life, therefore, all must be concerned and seek to tackle climate change as an imperative, argued Taylor. Hence, another of my Wishlist items for 2024 is that the spatial planning for mid- and high-rise developments in Jamaica must include quality of life strategies for green spaces and public access to rivers and beaches.

The excitement of COP28 with 198 parties united behind the UAE consensus of ‘a new path for the world’, resulted in ten endorsements. Interestingly, Jamaica endorsed only fifty per cent of these. Of significance is the endorsement, ‘UAE Leaders’ Declaration on a Global Climate Finance Framework’ comprising thirteen parties that included one from CARICOM, Prime Minister Mia Motley of Barbados.

RESONATED

Two COP28 endorsements resonated with me for the city. Having 66 endorsements with only two CARICOM parties, Antigua & Barbuda and St Lucia, was the ‘Global cooling pledge for COP28’. This agreed to develop a ‘Heat Action Plan’ by 2026 for mitigation and adaptation of urban heat. Recognising that artificial cooling, as an adaptation strategy, will result in increased GHG emissions, they agreed to move towards net zero emissions from cooling actions by 2050. This would involve passive cooling, increased efficiency, and low carbon ‘Global Warming Potential’ refrigerants. Added to my wishlist for 2024 is that developments on the Jamaican landscape must utilise Caribbean architecture strategies engaging cross-ventilation for natural breezes through windows as passive cooling, especially in school buildings. Let us avoid residential designs that force occupants to run continuously air conditioning, thereby increasing GHG emissions.

My special award goes to the COP28 endorsement ‘Joint statement on climate, nature and people’ with eighteen parties, Belize being the only one from CARICOM. It underscores biodiversity loss, land degradation and ocean health in an ambitious, integrated and synergetic intention to provide benefits for increasing resilience and securing billions of dependant livelihoods. My significant Wishlist item for 2024 is for Jamaica to reconcile environmental and human health in modern development interventions with integrated sewerage systems to prevent negative impacts on livelihoods.

Local governance must prevent sewer pipe leeching and undermining of transportation corridors that get reinstated without sewerage repairs, ultimately leading to fishkill in rivers and harbours that adversely impact livelihoods. Let us integrate climate change adaptation as we recall the Christmas carol refrain, “…O star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright, westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light…”.

Patricia Green, PhD, a registered architect and conservationist, is an independent scholar and advocate for the built and natural environment. Send feedback to patgreen2008@gmail.com and columns@gleanerjm.com