VOICES Bi-Monthly Magazine of the University of Technology, Jamaica | September – December 2021 10 as their centre, encouraging industry through offering incentives, such as subsidies, trade restrictions and lower interest rates. Dr. Hughes lamented, however, that “this growth was at a huge cost in terms of the environment”, where harmful practices including dumping effluents into the harbor, destruction of the beaches, forests and underground water supply systems were carried out, not just in Jamaica but globally, with very little regard to the consequences. The challenge following this period, Dr. Hughes highlighted, was the need to resume growth, in conditions created by the pandemic, in the era of climate change, and to preserve the environment and protect the ecosystem. Dr. Hughes noted that Jamaica’s Vision 2030 development plan came out of a desire for a green economy; which he defined as “an economy that sustains itself; fostering economic growth and development while ensuring that the natural assets continue to provide the resources and the environment services on which our well-being relies.” Citing various studies, he enumerated the benefits of the implementation of a green economy, including better health, better educational outcomes, preservation of resources and immediate reduction in use of resources and avoidance of increasing future cost of implementation of green economic policies. Dr. Hughes noted that “institutional capacity to undertake such a wideranging green transformation of the entire economy and society is not yet in place,” and further argued that “green strategies, by their very essence, are multi-sectoral, and require inter-agency, and public-private coordination.” Dr. Hughes, in summarizing, told the online gathering, that the green industrial policy can only succeed if it is driving growth, competitiveness and innovation, increasing productivity through transforming industrial activities, and is supported by a governmental framework that coordinates and regulates its policies. The Honourable Pearnel Charles, Jr., Minister of Housing, Urban Renewal, Environment and Climate Change, who brought greetings, noted the importance of establishing infrastructure and policy to drive sustainable economic growth. Minister Charles informed that the Government is currently working to create an environment which stimulates and generates green investments, and also involves and encourages the development of effective public policies including green fiscal policies to move the country towards a green economy. He also praised the University of Technology, Jamaica for “continuing to be a leader in action in developing the minds and the capacity for the Caribbean region”. Professor Colin Gyles, Acting President, in his welcome, noted that the distinguished public lecture is timely, “coming as it does on the heels of the recently concluded United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), which brought into sharper focus the issues and impact of climate change, and the growing urgency for countries to invest and operate in sustainable ways of living that respect the environment.” While praising Dr. Hughes for his “enduring advocacy for a ‘green growth’ era for Jamaica that is built around new investments in green technological innovations based on renewable energy”, Professor Gyles expressed the University’s continued commitment to contributing to policy and programme solutions that seek to address the urgent climate crisis and to secure Jamaica’s energy future in keeping with Vision 2030 targets. The Distinguished Public Lecture also included a panel discussion featuring Mr. Kingsley Thomas, OJ, Development Banker, Mrs. Eleanor Jones, OD, Chair, PSOJ Committee on Energy, Environment and Climate Change and Dr. Ruth Potopsingh, Associate Vice President, Caribbean Sustainable Energy and Innovation Institute (CSEII), who echoed the urgency of collaboration between public and private entities to move towards more sustainable research, development and economic strategies, as well as the role of academia, government and the private sector in the implementation of a new green industrial policy. The Hon. Pearnel Charles, Jr. Dr. Wesley Hughes (centre), Adjunct Professor, Economics, Climate Change and Renewable Energy, CSEII shares lens time with from (l-r) Mr. Hector Wheeler, AVP, Advancement, who moderated the lecture, Dr. Ruth Potopsingh, AVP, CSEII, Mrs. Eleanor Jones, OD, Chair, PSOJ Committee on Energy, Environment and Climate Change and Mr. Kingsley Thomas, OJ, Development Banker, following his Distinguished Public Lecture on November 23, 2021 at the UTech, Jamaica Papine Campus. Cont’d from page 9...Dr. Wesley Hughes, CD, CD, Adjunct Professor, CSEII ...
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