MINISTER without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation with responsibility for the environment Matthew Samuda has outlined that steps are being taken to move Jamaica along the path to sustained development, that is, fostering economic growth while taking care of the environment.

Samuda is currently in Stockholm, Sweden, at the Stockholm + 50 International Meeting ahead of World Environment Day which is recognised on June 5.

“Sustainable economic growth cannot come from environmental degradation and inclusive prosperity cannot be steeped in pollution,” Samuda told the audience in a short message, indicating that efforts to boost wealth need not be in conflict with environmental protection.

In response to queries about improving environmental protection while pursuing wealth creation growth, Samuda told the Jamaica Observer that part of the plan includes reducing the country’s carbon footprint and eventually going to carbon neutrality by 2050, while also protecting biodiversity in Jamaica’s oceans and on land as well as improving air quality.

“ ‘There is only one Earth. Let’s live in harmony with nature and take action to revitalise our oceans’ is Jamaica’s tag line for World Environment Day 2022,” he told Sunday Finance. The oceans have long been recognised for their importance to humans, providing goods and services conservatively estimated at US$2.5 trillion with projections that figure could double by 2030. Jamaica’s biggest industry, tourism, depends heavily on the ocean and it is also the source of livelihood for thousands of fisherfolk, while fostering trade, recreation, and a host of other activities the country is looking to boost as part of efforts to improve per capita income, which has hardly changed over for the past 50 years.

Samuda indicated that part of sustainably developing Jamaica’s blue economy, as activities related to the oceans are called, include expanding protected areas for fishing to allow for the replenishment of the fish population.

“In this regard, we have been tackling pollution, one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss, by improving the policy and legislative frameworks as well as the implementation of programmes, such as the ban in single-use plastics, which we plan to expand in scope during this fiscal year. Jamaica first banned some single-use plastic items in January 2019 with varying success.

Specifically, as it relates to halting and reversing biodiversity loss and preserving ecosystem functions and services to support economic growth and development, Samuda added that the Pedro Cays and surrounding waters off Jamaica’s south coast will be declared protected sometime during this fiscal year. He said work will also be undertaken on the development of a Kingston Harbour Master Plan to safeguard the health and productivity of the harbour as one of the country’s major marine ecosystems and a key economic driver.

Turning to greenhouse gas emissions, the environment minister told Sunday Finance Jamaica has set itself a target to cut its carbon output by 28.4 per cent by 2030 by primarily changing how electricity is generated. That process has already started with increases in renewable energy in the grid and a switch to less polluting liquified natural gas (LNG).

“With increased investments in renewables, the country has increased its capacity to mitigate the effects of climate change. Additionally, the country’s ability to sequester carbon will increase with the implementation of the Government’s national tree planting initiative, which not only includes the target of planting thee million trees by 2030, but also restoring mangroves which are efficient at sequestering carbon, provide a habit for fish and other marine creatures to spawn while increasing stabilisation of the coast from sea level rise.”

Samuda also said the country is at the preliminary stages of examing the potential of the blue carbon market for Jamaica by using the mangrove forests and sea grass beds for carbon credits for financing. He also pointed to innovative financing programmes, such as the catastrophe bond and the green bond market with the Jamaica Stock Exchange, as serious efforts being made to protect the environment for economic gain.

He outlined that creating a healthy planet means clean and accessible water, clean air so that our people don’t face climate-induced respiratory illnesses, quality soil for farmers, a thriving biodiversity, and a healthy ocean.

“What is this prosperity and how do we access it in a sustainable manner that keeps all of these dreams for our healthy planet alive?” he asked in reference to his statement that prosperity cannot be steeped in pollution.

“It’s inclusive of opportunity for all of us. It’s our citizens living above the poverty line. It’s access to modern goods and services without breaching our sustainability targets. Action must come from the multilateral process. It includes scaling up finance. It includes fixing the access issues, and it includes application harmonisation amongst the donor agencies so that small island developing states can truly have a chance to access these funds for adaptation. It also means that we must explore the interlinkages and look for enhanced synergies in the implementation of the multilateral processes and indeed the conventions that we are all signatories to,” he said rhetorically.