Jamaica, and other Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Caribbean, are especially vulnerable to climate change. Because of this heightened vulnerability, development of climate change adaptation strategies and policies are of paramount importance to Jamaica at this time in its planning framework.
This case study examines the impacts of climate change on critical coastal transport infrastructure assets (ports and airports) in Jamaica, and considers related adaptation needs and approaches. The analysis reveals a high and growing risk of marine inundation and operational disruptions to critical coastal transport infrastructure assets under climate change, from as early as the 2030s. The current cumulative loss of GDP due to damage associated with natural disasters was estimated to be in the order of $120 billion (7 percent of GDP). This figure does not include the economic costs of future climate change induced impacts, which could be significant.
The work was carried out as part of UNCTAD’s technical assistance project on “Climate change impacts on coastal transport infrastructure in the Caribbean: enhancing the adaptive capacity of SIDS” (SIDSport-ClimateAdapt.unctad.org). Other main project outputs include a case study on Saint Lucia, a Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment Framework for Caribbean Coastal Transport Infrastructure, tools and guidance, and capacity building workshops.
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