Earth Today | ‘SIDS Must Have Special ConsiderationCivil society stakeholders want recovery needs of small islands prioritised at COP30
Sixty-year-old Juliet Clarke from Ipswich, St Elizabeth, shows where she got trapped beneath the rubble of her three-bedroom board house after it collapsed on her during Hurricane Melissa.
Source: Jamaica Gleaner
IN THE aftermath of Hurricane Melissa’s brutal blows to Jamaica, local civil society actors have renewed their call for special consideration for small island developing states (SIDS), as this year’s global climate change negotiations (COP30) begin in Belem, Brazil.
Hurricane Melissa barrelled across Jamaica as a catastrophic Category 5 system last week, with wind speeds of up to 185 miles per hour, relentless rain and engulfing floods that have left many homeless, cut off from family and friends, and without food, water and electricity, among other basic needs.
“Let us be clear, Hurricane Melissa was not a natural disaster; it was a profound manifestation of climate injustice. Its unprecedented strength and rapid intensification were a direct consequence of global warming caused by fossil fuel dependence, corporate greed, and decades of political inaction. Our communities, those least responsible for this climate crisis, are now paying the highest price,” insisted the Jamaica Environment Trust and other civil society stakeholders in a release to the media.
“We call on the Government of Jamaica and global leaders attending COP30 in Belem, Brazil, to act with urgency, courage, clarity, and justice,” they added.
They have also urged Jamaica and other SIDS to sign the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty; as well as to demand greater action on the 1.5 climate target which will ensure that small islands survive; action on Loss and Damage financing that reaches communities. They also called on SIDS to prioritise community-led assistance, planning and rebuilding and the promotion of innovative, climate-resilient and just nature-based solutions in rebuilding.