Monroe Ellis: Law needed to close climate change response gap

Jamaica has built much of the machinery needed to confront climate change, yet the absence of a dedicated climate law is leaving standards and oversight without legal force. That is the central warning from Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis in a new 27-page assessment presented to lawmakers last week.

The review examines the country’s progress across governance, public policy, and climate finance. While it highlights notable advances—especially in policy ambition and institutional setup—it also underscores persistent gaps that could slow implementation, weaken accountability, and limit the participation of communities most exposed to climate impacts.

Strong architecture, missing legal backbone

On governance, the report awards Jamaica an 80 per cent score, pointing to a solid framework anchored by the Climate Change Policy Framework and the Long-Term Emissions Reduction and Climate-Resilience Strategy (LTS). The Climate Change Division’s coordinating role has improved cross-government alignment, and climate risk is increasingly integrated into public investment decisions.

However, the lack of climate-specific legislation remains a critical weakness. Without a statutory basis, standards and oversight mechanisms are harder to enforce. Vertical coordination between the national tier and local authorities is still underdeveloped, and the participation of vulnerable groups in decision-making remains limited. The report urges the Government to fulfill its commitment to craft climate legislation and to strengthen coordination between central and local levels.

Policy ambition out front; adaptation planning still lagging

Public policy earns an 82 per cent score, reflecting high ambition and clearer targets. Jamaica’s updated 2020 Nationally Determined Contribution broadened coverage to include land use, forestry, and waste—key sectors for mitigation and resilience. The energy sector has a defined pathway, including a 50 per cent renewable energy goal by 2030, and disaster risk considerations are more consistently woven into plans.

Yet the country’s adaptation agenda is uneven. A National Adaptation Plan is still in development with a target completion date of 2026, and 7 of 12 priority sectors lack dedicated adaptation strategies. This planning gap risks leaving crucial sectors exposed at a time when climate hazards are intensifying.

Finance rising, but tracking is fragmented

Climate finance is the weakest area, with a score of 52 per cent. The headline trend is positive: public allocations for climate-related activities rose by 253 per cent between the 2021–2022 and 2024–2025 fiscal years. Funding for the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation’s Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation sub-programme climbed from $416.9 million to $627.3 million, then jumped to $1.4 billion in 2024–2025.

Jamaica has also begun integrating climate priorities into the national budget and secured international financing, including from the Green Climate Fund. But the report finds that financial tracking remains fragmented. There is no centralized system to monitor public, private, or indirect climate finance flows across sectors. Current tracking focuses largely on public–private projects, leaving purely private investments underreported and obscuring the full picture of national climate expenditure.

Implementation and accountability need reinforcement

While the foundational policies and partnerships are in place, the report stresses the need to move from design to delivery with stronger mechanisms for accountability. Priorities identified include:

• Passing climate legislation to codify standards and compliance.
• Strengthening coordination with local authorities to improve on-the-ground execution.
• Building inclusive engagement processes that elevate vulnerable and underrepresented groups.
• Enhancing data systems for monitoring climate outcomes and finance, with clearer, real-time public access.
• Developing sector-specific financing strategies and investing in capacity building to sustain implementation.

Progress acknowledged, but key gaps persist

The report concludes that Jamaica is aligning national strategies with global commitments, mobilizing more climate finance, and embedding climate priorities into budgeting and institutional structures. The LTS and the updated NDC are important advances that provide a roadmap for decarbonization and resilience.

Even so, several gaps persist. The judiciary has not yet engaged in climate enforcement, legislative oversight and stakeholder accountability are still maturing, and monitoring and finance systems lack centralized, user-friendly access. Without a dedicated climate law and stronger local-level coordination, momentum could stall just as climate risks escalate.

What must happen next

The path forward, the report argues, hinges on turning policy ambition into binding commitments and measurable outcomes. Enacting enforceable climate legislation, tightening institutional coordination—especially with municipal and parish authorities—broadening stakeholder participation, and integrating monitoring with finance tracking would deepen transparency and accelerate implementation.

Taken together, these steps would solidify Jamaica’s progress, build resilience in communities on the frontline of climate change, and keep the country on a low-carbon development trajectory aligned with national priorities and international goals.

Methodological note: The assessment relied on information provided by ministries, departments, and agencies; it did not independently verify technical or scientific datasets and did not evaluate non-governmental or private-sector organizations.