KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) is welcoming yesterday’s announcement by Transport and Mining Minister, Mike Henry, that the Jiquan Iron & Steel Company Limited (JISCO) aluminium refinery in Nain, St Elizabeth will be using Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) as the source of energy for its new power plant, and not coal, as was previously stated.

The announcement comes exactly one year after JET reported that more than 21,000 people had signed a petition requesting that the Government refuse a proposal to construct a 1000MW coal-fired plant in Nain to power the JISCO refinery.

Diana McCaulay, CEO of JET, said that JISCO’s decision was a victory for Jamaicans.

“It is heartening to see that the concerns of Jamaica’s citizens were considered during the decision-making process for the new facility. This move is a win for public health and the climate and will hopefully usher in a new era of careful consideration for environmental concerns,” she said.

Between October 14 and November 1 last year, JET ran a #SayNOtoCoalJA campaign following Henry’s announcement of the sale of the old ALPART bauxite plant in Nain to JISCO, and a US$2 billion investment in an industrial zone, powered by a 1000MW coal-fired plant.

The petition called on the government to refuse the proposal to power the new plant using coal and abide by its commitment to the Paris Agreement of December 2015, which required of all countries a phased reduction of greenhouse gases. JET also called on the government to continue the transition to new energy sources, as outlined in documents such as Vision 2030 and the National Energy Policy of 2009. Among JET’s recommendations was the use of LNG, a transitional fuel, as an alternative to coal.