MINISTER of Water, Environment and Climate Change Matthew Samuda has expressed disappointment with the outcome of the 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP30) in Belém, Brazil.

Samuda, who led Jamaica’s delegation to COP30, says negotiations at the conference failed to match the urgency of the global weather crisis that persists.

Speaking at a virtual press conference themed, ‘Islands, the climate finance gap, and COP30 reflections’ on Wednesday, Samuda pointed to the vast devastation that Jamaica has been enduring since Hurricane Melissa slamed into the island on October 28, and underscored how this catastrophe shaped his disappointment in the lack of commitment from the countries who lead in global emissions yearly.

“I think I perhaps may be a little more disappointed than I am usually at the end of COP because seeing what Jamaica is going through, seeing what Vietnam is going through currently, seeing extreme weather events pop up all around the world in the last 10 days, you would think that the urgency and the facts staring us in the face would have brought about greater ambition. But, unfortunately, the global geopolitical landscape didn’t allow for us to go much further,” said Samuda.

He noted that Jamaica’s context does not exist only within the damage caused by Hurricane Melissa but also the continuous blows sustained over the years due to drought conditions and consistent storms.

Against that background Samuda expressed frustration that more initiative has not been taken to transform talks into meaningful action.

“Since my tenure started [in 2020], Jamaica experienced its hottest day on record; it experienced its wettest day on record; it experienced over the last four years its worst drought, its third-worst drought, and its fourth-worst drought on record.

“We experienced two tropical storms, a Category 4 hurricane last year, Hurricane Beryl, and now [Hurricane Melissa] that could be classified as a category six if the WMO [World Meteorological Organisation] is minded to take a second look at the Saffir-Simpson scale. That is climate changing in reality — that’s not a figment of imagination, that’s not an academic debate for us at this stage,” said Samuda.

According to Samuda, despite his disappointment Cop30 was a mixed bag. He praised the administrative team behind the Loss and Damage Fund, Brazil’s launch of the Tropical Forest Forever facility, and Colombia’s continued push for stronger negotiations on fossil fuels.

Samuda also expressed gratitude for the strong support Jamaica has received through multilateral agencies in the wake of Hurricane Melissa.

While acknowledging these positives, Samuda reiterated that the lived realities of vulnerable countries are not being taken seriously enough by large carbon emitters, and expressed hope the COP will continue to benefit Jamaica.

“I would not join some cynics who I have heard in saying that we have eroded any of our positions. I just don’t think we moved as far as we should, taking into consideration everything that has happened over the last few years — but there are some positives.

“I think there is willingness to move Jamaica’s projects through a special window or emergency response-type approach to the projects which will help us to unlock long-overdue funding, so perhaps that is a silver lining. So, hopefully, we will not just build back quickly but we’ll build back far better and far stronger, with resilience in mind,” Samuda told the virtual press conference.

This man examines damage done by Hurricane Melissa, which developed into a Category 5 storm just hours before it hit Jamaica. (Photo: Naphtali Junior)