Earth Today | Slow march to green economy

 

JAMAICA MAY be slow in its march towards a green economy, one intended to ensure that economic prosperity is not achieved at the expense of environmental degradation, but it is marching.

So says Colonel Oral Khan, chief technical director (CTD) in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation.

"It is definitely not dead. It hasn't been carried forward so much under the theme of the green economy, but things are still happening," Khan told The Gleaner recently.

"Things are happening, even though the label 'green economy' has not been used as before," he emphasised.

Khan's comments come nearly two years after the publication of the island's Green Economy Scoping Study, prepared for the Government with support from the European Union and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNER now UN Environment).

He cited as one example the Green Business Jamaica (GBJ) Certification Programme of the National Environment and Planning Agency. That programme provides businesses the opportunity to voluntarily infuse environmentally friendly processes in their operations while practising high standards in pollution prevention and resource conservation in line with international standards.

Those that comply are included on a list of GBJ-certified companies and are able to have on display an approved eco-label sign or logo on their buildings, stationery, or packaging to signify that they are doing their part to protect the environment and reduce their carbon footprint.

Khan also identified work being done under the Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience, together with various policy actions, as contributing to the 'greening' of the economy.

Still, he admitted that they have not seen the pace of progress they would have liked, given funding challenges.

 

Scoping study

 

"The scoping study was done with the development partners. We got support from the UNEP (for example) to assist us in scoping out those sectors that had potential for taking off in the green economy," the CTD said.

"The next phase was really to try and develop investments projects, but we haven't had the funding that would allow the state to drive that sort of thing at this time, and so, we would have to look to the private sector to drive the investments in the green economy," he added.

The study identified as priority sectors agriculture, construction, energy, tourism, and water. It recommended, among other things, the sustainable use of resources, minimising greenhouse gas emissions, the provision of decent jobs, incentivising green investments, and disincentivising brown investments to form elements of the strategy for greening.

It further recommended guiding public and private consumption away from harmful practices and support for environmental education and socialisation.

Khan said that there is cause to hope.

"A number of companies are turning to renewables; there are, for example, a number of firms establishing those large solar farms. Renewable energy projects have basically sold themselves because there is a short payback for that investment. In terms of green buildings, there is a prototype up at the University (of the West Indies), and that should promote the technology," he noted.

"But it is going to take some time. These things will take some time before people will see the real return; everybody is watching the bottom line," Khan said.