KINGSTON, Jamaica— Opposition spokesman Phillip Paulwell has warned that “climate change is the single greatest threat to the future of humanity” and has criticised the government for what he says is its failure to meet its own energy and environmental targets.

Making his contribution to the 2025/26 Sectoral Debate on Tuesday, Paulwell argued that the climate change crisis is an existential one and declared that “the need for urgent and meaningful measures from all nations is as great now as it was when the Paris Summit in 2016 was held”.

Reaffirming the People’s National Party’s (PNP) position, he outlined continued support for the global pledge to limit temperature rise, reduce emissions in agriculture and forestry, climate financing through the Green Climate Fund, and strong systems of measurement, reporting and verification.

Paulwell condemned environmental mismanagement under the current administration, citing two major incidents.

“We saw the unregulated development and destruction of mangroves at Fort Rocky. Prior to that, in 2020, we saw NEPA’s permit denial for quarry mining in Dry Harbour Mountains being overturned by Prime Minister [Dr Andrew Holness] himself for ‘economic benefit’ in spite of the irreversible damage that would be caused to a limestone forest. Actions like these are untenable,” said Paulwell.

He told the House of Representatives that climate change is already impacting health, social well-being, and key sectors like tourism, agriculture, and water and urged a more coordinated national response.

“As soon as we return to office, we will have to amalgamate all the various projects in a much more coordinated and focused way within the national budget,” said Paulwell.

He also renewed the PNP’s pledge to launch “a sustained public education programme aimed at all levels of the population and sectors of the country.”

The opposition spokesman on energy and climate change also called for a national cultural shift in how Jamaicans understand and respond to the climate threat.

“We must move from a tagline to a mindset so that our people will fully understand that we are facing real danger that will have far-reaching consequences on things we take for granted,” said Paulwell.

He also announced that as part of the PNP’s vision, it has plans for a renewable energy push and housing revolution.

“A major plank of our policy is to promote the rapid expansion in the deployment by individuals of renewable energy, especially using solar technology. A special incentive scheme is in the works to support this transition with low-cost financing and easier licensing processes,” Paulwell added.

He reiterated that a future PNP government is committed to building 50,000 houses for low-income families in five years, all designed to “provide energy and have additional capacity to sell electricity to the grid.”