Top things to know
- Christopher Brown questioned delays at the Public Accounts Committee, noting only one of five priority climate-change projects is complete despite $13.4 billion allocated.
- Brown said there is a disconnect between Jamaica's global climate activism and local resilient infrastructure delivery.
- Permanent Secretary Wayne Robertson cited COVID-19, procurement rules and staffing shortages; the unit had three officers for about two years before reaching eight.
- Schmoi McLean said the Climate Change Branch added a greenhouse gas inventory officer and an educational communications officer.
- Robertson said Jamaica applied to the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage and hopes for up to US$20 million by December, shifted from July.
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Only one of five priority climate-change projects has been completed despite $13.4 billion being allocated, Member of Parliament for St Mary South Eastern Christopher Brown told Tuesday's sitting of the Public Accounts Committee.Brown said repeated delays identified in the Auditor General's report raised concerns about whether Jamaica was preparing quickly enough for climate change, particularly while dealing with major hurricanes. "I sense a disconnect between our activism on the global circuit as it relates to climate change and climate resilience as against the local resilient infrastructure," he said. Permanent Secretary Wayne Robertson cited the COVID-19 pandemic, public procurement requirements and limited staffing, noting the unit operated with three officers for about two years before reaching eight. Schmoi McLean, principal director of the ministry's Climate Change Branch, said staffing had increased, including a greenhouse gas inventory officer and an educational communications officer. Robertson said Jamaica had applied to the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage and hoped to receive up to US$20 million by December, shifted from July.