Earth Today | Mixed local reactions to new climate pact

THE LATEST global climate pact has attracted mixed reviews from local stakeholders, who say that while it addresses some key issues for vulnerable countries, there are still miles to go for a secure climate future.

“I understand that the UN climate system is a collaborative one, that it has to include the views of all. By its very nature, that is a slow process. But I was hoping to see some stronger decisions being taken,” said long-time advocate for climate justice, Indi Mclymont-Lafayette.

She was referencing the Glasgow Climate Pact, the result of two weeks of negotiations at the level of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP), held in Scotland earlier this month to accelerate progress towards deliverables under the Paris Agreement.

The historic Paris Agreement, hammered out in 2015, is intended to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change, by, among other things, “holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, recognising that this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change”.

SLOW PROGRESS

Efforts to realise that outcome have, however, seen slow progress. The Glasgow Pact, in addressing key issues such as adaptation, adaptation finance, mitigation, technology transfer, and capacity building, is intended to help to move the needle forward.

“While I was happy to see the Adaptation Fund, for example, getting its biggest chunk of funding ever, it is still to be noted that stronger decisions were not taken re mitigation action such as coal manufacturing. There is also still the need to further boost adaptation funding and to take a concrete decision re loss and damage, which is critical for small islands like Jamaica,” added Mclymont-Lafayette, who is also a gender and development communications specialist.

“So I understand the process of the COP, and I know SIDS (small island developing states) like Jamaica put their heart and soul into the negotiations, but the COP needs to put in a system to fast-track some of the major issues because the climate impacts are escalating, and we have to do the same to survive,” she said further.

Private-sector player Eleanor Jones said she believes the new agreement is indicative of some progress and in line with her own expectations of the COP.

“There are some important recurring themes. The first is the urgency of taking action and to use the science to make decisions. The fact is that we have all of these Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports, all of these scientists working on the issue, and we need to use their findings to underpin our decision-making,” she said.

That adaptation is covered is also crucial for small islands, such as Jamaica, that stand to be worse affected by climate impacts, including extreme weather events such as hurricanes. The devastation associated with these occurrences has been experienced in the region over recent years.

Critical for Jones, however, is the need for countries such as those of the Caribbean to take control of their vulnerability.

“We must take charge of our vulnerability and reduce our exposure, which means that we integrate adaptation measures into our development initiatives. We need action. For Jamaica, we need to consider that reducing risk and integrating the science into our decision-making are very important, while building the adaptive capacity of our people and institutions and becoming more results-oriented,” she said.

“We also need technology transfers through partnering with international agencies and the multilaterals. They are really pushing that a lot, and we need to really take it on board and move with it. We also need to remove some of the plugs and choke points that prevent things from happening,” Jones added.

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