Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth & Job Creation (MEGJC), Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda, will lead Jamaica’s climate agenda at the 3rd Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCAL) Ministerial Meeting which is to be held in Brussels, Belgium on May 12, 2023.

Other members of the delegation include Ms. Schmoi McLean, Program Coordination, Monitoring and Evaluation from the Ministry; and Mrs. Phillipa Ricketts-Edmund, Director of Hazard Mitigation and Risk Management at the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD).

Building on the LoCAL Ministerial Declarations, the third LoCAL Ministerial Meeting, being held under the theme ‘Together for impactful adaptation’, will consider challenges to the climate-resilient development pathway, discuss practical solutions, and agree on a common strategy to accelerate transformational adaptation action at the local level.

The meeting will also provide a unique platform for LoCAL countries to reaffirm their bold leadership and political commitment needed for securing additional finance for accelerated and ambitious local adaptation, through the LoCAL mechanism, in the most climate-vulnerable countries.

“Since becoming a part of LoCAL in 2020, Jamaica has partnered with the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) to conduct introductory training sessions with staff of Municipal Corporations (MCs); draft a concept note that outlines how the initiative could be successfully implemented in selected MCs; and submit a proposal for funding to the Green Climate Fund – GCF that was approved and submitted on 21st February 2023,” Minister Samuda said.

The Local Climate Adaptive Living (LoCAL) Facility, designed by the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), is a country-owned initiative aimed to promote green and climate–resilient communities and local economies by establishing a standard, an internationally recognized country-based mechanism to channel climate finance to local authorities for its effective use.
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