Elizabeth Morgan | Climate Change (COP30) and CARICOM

FROM STUDIES now done, Hurricane Mellissa is being assessed as the third most intense Atlantic/Caribbean hurricane when it made landfall on Jamaica’s southwest coast on Tuesday, October 28. Some analysts are basing their conclusions on the fact that Melissa moved from a tropical storm to a powerful hurricane rapidly, though its movement was slow and erratic; the winds may have exceeded 185 miles in some gusts; and the eye pressure was extremely low at 892 millibars.

She left in her wake damage and deaths in the Dominican Republic and Haiti as she passed off shore at Category 5. She left catastrophic damage and deaths in Jamaica, where she made landfall at maximum strength. There was damage and deaths in Cuba, where she also made landfall as Category 3. At an even lower category, she impacted The Bahamas and Bermuda before petering out in the north Atlantic. The name, Melissa, for hurricanes, should be retired.

The scientists are clear that the increasing frequency of these extremely powerful and destructive hurricanes (cyclones, typhoons), not only in the Atlantic area, but in the Pacific as well, are due to climate change, the warming of the oceans. In one week, the Philippines was hit by two typhoons in succession.

It is very difficult to see how some governments and people can deny that climate change is a real and scientifically verified phenomenon to which the activities of human beings are a major contributor. Fires, floods, increasing or lower temperatures (heat and cold), more severe droughts, melting ice caps and glaciers, and rising sea levels are now regular occurrences.

CATHOLIC CHURCH ON CLIMATE CHANGE

The Roman Catholic Church from 2015, with the publication of Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si, on care of our common earth, has been clear that climate change and protection of our environment are not just political, economic or scientific issues, but are also moral and spiritual concerns. The earth is God’s creation and human beings are supposed to be its caretakers, not its destroyers. Laudato Si was an influential document at the 21st UN Conference on Climate Change (COP21) held in Paris, France, in 2015. This conference resulted in the adoption of the Paris climate accord. On climate change, Pope Leo XIV is continuing the work begun by the late Pope Francis. The popes have been influenced by the situation of the peoples of the Amazon and the dilemma of island states, among other things.

COP30 SUMMIT

The 30th UN Conference on Climate Change (COP30) started in Belém, Brazil, at the entrance to the Amazon, with the Leaders’ Summit, November 6-7. About 40 world leaders attended the summit. The Leaders of India, China, and Russia did not attend. This does not mean that their countries were absent, but they were represented at lower levels. The USA is in the process of withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The USA thus did not attend COP30 at the official federal level, but other US representatives from state and local levels are attending.

The CARICOM Heads of State and Government of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Guyana, St Kitts/Nevis, and Suriname attended the Summit.

With the passage of Hurricane Melissa in the northern Caribbean, October 27-29, the absence of Jamaica and The Bahamas would be understood. St Vincent and the Grenadines and St Lucia will be holding general elections on November 27 and December 1, respectively. They were not represented at the leaders’ level. Philip J. Pierre, prime minister of St Lucia, is the lead prime minister on climate change.

CARICOM at COP30

In the last 20 years, CARICOM countries have had encounters with several hurricanes which attained the Category 5 level, such as Emily, Katrina, Wilma, Irma, Maria, Dorian, Beryl, and Melissa.

CARICOM countries are experiencing climate change not only in the intensity and frequency of hurricanes, but with prolonged droughts, rising temperatures, floods, sea level rise, and the overgrowth of sargassum weed.

Climate change is a priority for CARICOM countries, which have contributed the least to carbon emissions, but are facing its severe consequences, which can be inimical to economies.

CARICOM recognised the importance of climate change when it established the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre in 2002. The Prime Ministerial Sub-committee on Climate Change is chaired by the prime minister of St Lucia. In January, Dr James Fletcher, former government minister of St Lucia, was appointed as the region’s climate envoy to advocate for it at the highest levels.

CARICOM has worked over the years to coordinate its position on climate change. For COP30, two meetings of the Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on Climate Change were held and, in October, a statement was issued to mark the 10th anniversary of the Paris Climate Agreement. This document outlines the position of CARICOM on reducing carbon emissions, recognition of the concerns of small island developing states, and the need for climate financing to support mitigation and adaptation.

So, CARICOM is expected to have a strong delegation at the official and technical levels for the main meeting of the parties (COP30), which started on November 10 and will end on November 21, hopefully, with meaningful and implementable agreements. Jamaica’s delegation, it is understood, is being led by Minister of Water, Environment and Climate Change Matthew Samuda. It was a positive development, following Jamaica’s general election, that climate change was returned to a distinct ministry.

Samuda, member of parliament for North East St Ann, will take to COP30 his experience of Hurricane Melissa, as a minister and that of his constituents.

It seems that the financing gap left by the USA has been filled by philanthropists. However, the UN members and the major polluters are required to meet their obligations. China and India have signalled interest in advancing the climate change agenda. A positive sign is the significant number of participants from the USA, as there is still interest in that country in clean energy and reducing carbon emissions.

A major problem remains convincing fossil energy producers, including those in CARICOM currently producing, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, and those aspiring – Suriname, Belize, Grenada, and even Jamaica – that they will need to phase out the use of fossil fuels and temper future expectations. They also need to invest in renewable energy. There is thus a serious obstacle to achieving the climate agenda, and there is also the matter of meeting the financing targets.

As Jamaica continues to grapple with the wanton destruction wrought by Hurricane Melissa, we await the outcome from COP30.

Elizabeth Morgan is a specialist in international trade policy and international politics. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.