Jamaica calls for global support following Hurricane Melissa to "extend beyond sympathy'

Jamaica’s Minister of Climate Change, Matthew Samuda, has welcomed the global outpouring of support after Hurricane Melissa but called for "solidarity to extend beyond sympathy”.

Speaking at the COP30 Summit under way in Brazil, he pressed for developed nations to make meaningful contributions to the UN Loss and Damage fund so that countries most impacted by these intense disasters can rebuild stronger.

The United Nations climate finance mechanism was established at COP27 in 2022 to assist vulnerable developing countries in recovering from the irreversible impacts of climate change, such as extreme weather and rising sea levels.

“We welcome the fund for responding to loss and damage and for us access is not charity, but indeed climate justice, we urge all developed countries to contribute to the fund meaningfully so that frontline countries can recover and rebuild stronger,” Samuda stated.

He added that the establishment of this fund has justified the call for it to be managed in a World Bank facility, which he said could serve as a guiding example for how other funds in the financial mechanism are structured.

The Minister further called on the global community, especially major carbon emitters to honour their commitment and safely guard the 1.5 degree threshold.

The 1.5 threshold refers to the 1.5°C (2.7°F) limit for global warming, a key goal of the Paris Agreement to limit the increase in the Earth's average temperature above pre-industrial levels.

“For Jamaica, this is survival, it's about our people, and their right to a safe and prosperous future,” he said.

Samuda noted that Hurricane Melissa, the category five storm that tore through the island on October 28, causing widespread devastation has “changed the life of every Jamaican”.

It generated more than 4.8 million tons of debris — four times the country’s annual waste collection — while displacing more than 30,000 people, according to the United Nations Development Programme.

Samuda pointed to preliminary estimates which place damage around $10 billion US or approximately one third of the island’s GDP.

“No small-island state can absorb losses of this magnitude,” he said.

But he said the Jamaican government had invested in its preparedness, and pointed to the sovereign catastrophe bond, which was renewed with the World Bank in 2024. The Minister also stated that Jamaica has submitted its climate action plans under the Paris Agreement and has advanced its long-term strategies under the Paris Agreement for a low carbon climate resilient future and is now finalising the national adaptation plan.

“These are not small steps for a small island, but instead acts of courage and foresight,” he said.

-Sashana Small

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