THERE is a real sign that the major contributors to air pollution are now committed to a sustainable and low-carbon future, says British Minister of State for the Commonwealth and the United Nations Baroness Anelay.

She pointed out that countries, including the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases (China and the United States), have agreed to act together to address climate change, and to be held accountable through the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

“This Agreement is a real sign that we have turned the corner in our journey towards a sustainable and low-carbon future. Countries will now have to come together to review our climate plans,” the minister of state said, while speaking at the annual Chevening Lecture Series, held Wednesday at the Courtyard by Marriot hotel in New Kingston.

She told the British High Commission-sponsored event, staged under the theme ‘Climate Change and Jamaica’s Development’, that there is a need to work together and hold each of the 195 countries that are signatories to the agreement accountable, so that the necessary action can be taken to tackle climate change.

The Paris Agreement, signed last December, brings all nations into a common cause to undertake efforts to combat climate change, and to adapt to its effects, with enhanced support to assist developing countries to do so.

It also has a central aim to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change, by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

To reach the goals of the agreement, a framework will be put in place to support action by developing countries.

The minister of state told the gathering that the United Kingdom is leading by example with massive financial support to the most vulnerable countries and has enacted laws for the reduction of emissions.

Through their support, developing countries will be able to “strengthen their resilience, and manage the risks of a changing climate”, she said.

Meanwhile, director of the Climate Studies Group, at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Professor Michael Taylor, called for climate planning to be included in all development projects.

For her part, director of the Climate Change Division in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Una May Gordon, used the occasion to outline the various projects that Jamaica has embarked on as part of the country’s Climate Change mitigation activities.

— JIS