Earth Today | Jamaica completes third national report on climate change
Published:Wednesday | March 28, 2018 | 12:00 AM
AFTER some four years of work, Jamaica's third national report detailing its progress in responding to climate change has been submitted for Cabinet approval.
The Climate Change Division this week officially handed over the document to Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation Audrey Sewell.
"After approval by the Cabinet, it will be submitted to the executive secretary of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change)," Sewell revealed in a statement shared with The Gleaner.
The document, she said, is as much informative as it is instructive.
"The Third National Communication (TNC) of Jamaica is a repository of useful climate change information. It includes the most up-to-date inventory of our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 2006 to 2012, as well as a profile of projected GHG emissions up to 2050. It also includes measures that have the potential to reduce a significant portion of these emissions," she noted.
"In terms of Jamaica's ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change, the TNC contains several assessments of our vulnerability and options for coping with these impacts on several sectors, including water resources, agriculture, human health, coastal resources and human settlement, and tourism," Sewell added.
Work on the national communication was undertaken together with work on the island's biennial update report (BUR) with funding from the Government as well as from the Global Environment Facility and as part of a project administered by seasoned climate change negotiator and meteorologist Clifford Mahlung.
BURs provide an update of the information presented in national communications, in particular, on national GHG inventories, mitigation actions, and constraints and gaps, including support needed and received.