Int’l climate change efforts will benefit Ja – Mahlung
CLIFFORD MAHLUNG, former head of the climate change branch at the Jamaica Meteorological Office, has hailed the progress being made by international countries in tackling climate change.
Mahlung, who is also a member of the negotiating team for the upcoming climate change conference in Paris, told The Gleaner recently that the progress is significant as Jamaica and other developing economies are most at risk from sea-level rise and other negative climate impacts, though they contribute less than one per cent of the heat-trapping gases that contribute to global warming.
United States President Barack Obama last Monday unveiled what he called “the biggest, most important step taken” in tackling climate change.
CLEAN POWER PLAN
This step, dubbed the ‘Revised Clean Power Plan’, is to cut greenhouse gas emissions from US power stations by nearly a third within 15 years. The measures will place significant emphasis on wind and solar power and other renewable energy sources.
Mahlung said: “We have seen a lot of activities globally, relating to getting an agreement and, most i mportantly, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Countries are having meetings, workshops and other events, and the results are evident. I am feeling very optimistic that we will arrive at an agreement where all the parties, especially small-island states, can be satisfied come December.”
He added: “The countries that stand out are China and the US. India has also made a lot of effort when it comes to producing electricity. They are moving more and more towards solar and wind technology, and we have to applaud the work being done thus far, though we have a long way to go.”
He continued: “That is a significant move because, currently, temperatures have increased to a little over one degree, and already the atmosphere is producing super systems such as the ongoing heat wave battering some countries, in addition to hurricanes and drought. We cannot afford for temperatures to increase any higher. It is imperative that countries reduce their emissions so as to have a viable future, especially for a country such as Jamaica.”
He also noted that following a lag in the pace at which funding was forthcoming to developing countries, the past couple weeks have seen steady improvement.
In a recent article, Albert Daley, head of the Climate Change Division at the Ministry of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, had expressed concerns over a lack of funding from developed countries to assist small-island developing states to adapt to climate change.
FINANCING EFFORTS
Developed countries had committed to mobilising US$100 billion annually by 2020, to address developing countries’ climate-change needs.
Mahlung, however, noted that, “A lot of financing efforts are being pushed forward. The green climate fund is up and running and things look hopeful. The money has not come forward, but they are putting the mechanisms in place, and there is progress.
“The impact has been such that more persons are becoming convinced that there has to be a change. There are still people who are sceptical, important persons, too, but we have to try and get over those hurdles,” he charged.
The 21st Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will be held i n Paris from November 30 to December 11, and will see countries negotiating to reach a legally binding agreement.