PM Holness to co-chair UN climate change financing initiative
PRIME MINISTER Andrew Holness and President of France Emmanuel Macron have been asked by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, to lead a political initiative to mobilise climate financing to support the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
The invitation to mobilise Government and private sector to build political consensus and increase momentum to raise $100 billion per year in climate finance by 2020 was outlined in a letter to Holness in which Guterres noted the leadership of Jamaica on the issue of climate finance.
The UN secretary general said that the funds are needed to address the mitigation and adaptation needs of developing countries and reminded that within the context of the Paris Agreement, developed countries reaffirmed the pledge made at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in 2009 to mobilise $100 billion per year by 2020 from a combination of public and private sources.
At a high-level meeting of 20 heads of government yesterday formalising the engagement, Guterres, in his remarks, said that the efforts of all who participate in the process of building awareness and resilience is very important to ensure that the world does not experience runaway climate change.
In his comments, Holness welcomed the opportunity and pledged to work with other countries and the private sector to ensure that the targets are met.
The prime minister also spoke of the importance of not only securing the funding, but also of securing access for small developing states like Jamaica and the Marshall Islands (whose president was also present). He urged world leaders to consider how countries that are, to a great extent, not significant contributors to climate change, are the most vulnerable to its impact and have the least capacity to respond to its challenges.
Holness attended the 73rd Session of the United General Assembly (UNGA) in New York at the UN Headquarters this week.
Holness welcomed the opportunity and pledged to work with other countries and the private sector to ensure that the targets are met.