Former Jamaican Prime Minister P.J. Patterson is calling on world leaders gathered at the G20 Summit in Johannesburg to place climate justice at the top of the global agenda, arguing that small island states like Jamaica are bearing the brunt of a crisis they did not create.
Patterson’s renewed appeal comes as Jamaica continues to reel from the catastrophic impact of Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 storm that made landfall on October 28 and has since claimed 45 lives, left hundreds homeless, and devastated key economic sectors including agriculture and tourism.
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The World Bank estimates that Melissa caused US$8.8 billion in physical damage—equivalent to 41% of Jamaica’s GDP—making it the costliest hurricane in the nation’s history.
‘If ever there is an area of global inequality, it is climate change’
Speaking with the Jamaica Observer, Patterson said this year’s G20 theme — “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability” — provides an opening for meaningful action, particularly as the United States, though not represented at the presidential level, participated in the summit.
“If ever there is an area where they need immediately to look at global inequality, it is in the area of global warming and climate change,” he said.
Patterson, who recently joined Accra Reset, a council of former African heads of state led by Nigeria’s former president Olusegun Obasanjo, said he submitted recommendations urging G20 leaders to prioritize climate action and support vulnerable countries.
Hopes Holness will elevate Jamaica’s case
He added that he hopes Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who is attending the two-day summit, will use the global platform to highlight the severity of Jamaica’s losses and advocate for stronger international commitments.
“I am hoping that we are going to have a strong statement emerging from that conference on climate change,” Patterson said.
While acknowledging that Jamaica has access to some insurance mechanisms, Patterson argued that each climate disaster pushes small nations further behind.
“Every time we make a step forward… we are being pushed back by forces outside our control,” he said.
Criticism of stalled global action
Patterson warned that scientific evidence is being ignored in favor of political convenience, blasting arguments made by “perhaps the greatest polluter” that climate change is a “hoax.”
He said the scale of destruction caused by Melissa — combined with rising sea levels threatening small island states — demands urgent global recognition of climate injustice.
Although COP30 in Brazil concluded over the weekend with an agreement to “accelerate” climate action, Patterson expressed disappointment that negotiators failed to include a firm road map to phase out fossil fuels.
“When there is an elimination of any target levels… instead of going forward, we’re going backward,” he said.
Finance gap persists for developing countries
During COP30, developing nations pushed for substantial increases in funding to help vulnerable economies adapt to climate impacts and transition toward low-carbon development. While wealthy nations resisted binding commitments, the final agreement calls for adaptation finance to at least triple by 2035.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva hailed the outcome as a victory for multilateralism, stating, “At the COP of truth, science prevailed.”
But for Patterson, the path forward remains steep — and the urgency undeniable.
“While the disaster occurred in Jamaica, and while it is occurring in the Caribbean, it is really not of our making… We are not the ones who have caused it, but we are the ones who have been the worst victims,” he said.
