Marks urges industry to help drive green economy

WASHINGTON,DC:

Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States (US) Audrey Marks has argued that industry has a fundamental role to play in driving the green economy and charting the way towards a carbon neutral and sustainable future.

She pointed out that, at the Leader’s Summit hosted by US President Joe Biden last month, both the president and the US climate envoy John Kerry stressed the necessary partnership with industry leaders.

The Jamaican diplomat said that the clear message was “enhanced climate action is necessary both to address the climate crisis and to promote economic opportunity, which included creating good, high-quality jobs in areas such as renewable energy deployment, electric vehicle manufacturing, methane abatement and building retrofits”.

Marks told members of the American Chamber that, “It is our view that, for this to work, government must formulate the policies and create the enabling environment, but industry must lead the development and implementation of the revolution. That’s where organisations like the American Chamber of Commerce have a critical role to play”.

The ambassador’s remarks came at a roundtable discussion on ‘Greening Latin America and the Caribbean’, put on by the American Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.

“As the largest business federation in the US, representing more than three million businesses, you are uniquely poised to spur this movement. We applaud you on your leadership thus far and hope it will inspire other industry players,” she said.

The ambassador praised the efforts of the US and other countries like Japan, Canada, India, South Africa, Russia, South Korea, China, the United Kingdom and the European Union, for committing to drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

She said Jamaica, “like all Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and many developing countries, remains committed to advancing climate action, and we are determined to build forward stronger, better and greener”.