Jamaica becomes first Caribbean nation to submit tougher climate plan to UN

(Climate Home News, 2 Jul 2020) Jamaica adds forestry and land use to updated climate plan and toughens goals for energy. UK, due to host UN talks, hails “greater climate ambition”

Jamaica has become the first Caribbean nation to submit a tougher climate action plan under the Paris Agreement by adding targets for forestry and stepping up curbs on greenhouse gas emissions from energy.

The UK, which will host the next UN climate summit in November 2021, delayed from 2020 because of Covid-19, praised the move and urged other nations to follow suit as quickly as possible.

Worldwide, Jamaica is the 11th nation to submit an updated plan, or nationally determined contribution (NDC), at the five-year milestone of the 2015 Paris Agreement.

“Jamaica’s new NDC is more ambitious than its previous one,” the Jamaican government said in a submission to the United Nations, outlining the new goals worked out despite the coronavirus pandemic.

The nation was at risk from more intense hurricanes, sea level rise and a drying trend across much of the island, it said.

The new goal marked an upgrade by addressing land use change and forestry emissions, and committing to deeper emission reductions in the energy sector, it said.

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Climate Home News, 2 Jul 2020: Jamaica becomes first Caribbean nation to submit tougher climate plan to UN