Minister of Water, Atmosphere, and Local weather Change Matthew Samuda has been elected President of the United Nations Atmosphere Meeting (UNEA), the world’s prime decision-making physique on environmental issues.
Samuda is main Jamaica’s delegation to UNEA-7 in Nairobi, Kenya. His election by acclamation was overseen by outgoing president Abdullah Bin Ali Al-Amri. Endorsed by the Latin America and Caribbean area, he’ll preside over UNEA-8.
In his acceptance remarks, Samuda underscored the urgency of world environmental stewardship, calling it “the defining problem of our century,” and highlighted the lived vulnerability of climate-impacted nations.
The UNEA units world environmental coverage route, opinions progress, and guides the work of the UN Atmosphere Programme (UNEP). The President manages the Meeting’s formal classes, working teams, and total conduct.
Earlier this week, Jamaica backed two worldwide resolutions on coral reefs and sargassum seaweed. Samuda additionally pointed to escalating climate-related harm, together with the US$8.8-billion affect of Hurricane Melissa, which accounted for 41% of Jamaica’s GDP and destroyed 51% of major forests.
He famous that consecutive excessive climate occasions in recent times — hurricanes, storms, document warmth, and drought — proceed to show the extreme vulnerability of Small Island Growing States.
