Headlines:
| Foreign Affairs Minister to address climate change conference |
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| Thursday, 22 October 2009 | |
 Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Kenneth Baugh. The meeting will assist in the formal submission of a report to the 15th Conference of the parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The conference will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark from December 7 to 9. Thursday's meeting is organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the Meteorological Service and the Environmental Management Division of the Office of the Prime Minister. It will discuss the Second National Communication Jamaica Project as well some of the pertinent issues relating to climate change adaptation and mitigation. The objective of the Second National Communication Jamaica Project is to come up with recommendations for policies and technologies that will reduce harmful greenhouse emissions and increase public awareness of climate change. Head of the Unit for Environment and Energy at UNDP Jamaica, Dr. Margaret Jones Williams, says the UN meeting is of critical importance to Small Island Developing States like Jamaica, which are dependent on coastal resources. These countries, she pointed out, suffer the worst effects of climate change, even though they are not the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases. During his budget presentation earlier this year Dr. Baugh stated that the government was committed to providing maximum diplomatic support for climate change negotiations. At the CARICOM Heads of Government meeting in Guyana in July, regional countries agreed on a co-ordinated approach to the issue. |