By Saio Marrah
The United Nations Resident Coordinator for Sierra Leone, Dr Babatunde A. Ahonsi, has urged citizens to have an effective collaboration in the fight against Climate Change.
Dr Ahonsi made this called last week during his engagement with fishing boat owners in the coastal fishing community of Tombo along the Freetown Peninsula.
He informed the gathering that climate change is affecting every aspect of Sierra Leone’s economy and society just like the rest of the world. He noted that the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly referred to as Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, or COP27 taking place in Egypt from 6th to the 18th November this year , will therefore serve to emphasize to everyone that urgent climate action is not the responsibility of Government alone.
For this he said they will therefore also encourage delegates to the conference to include not just be government officials, but also people from all facet of life like the mass media, civil society and private sector.
The UN coordinator said this is because they will be returning to their respective countries with renewed commitment and ambition to join hands in pursuing urgent climate actions and engage fully on climate finance.
He said: “Only in this way, can the country truly address the climate crisis in a manner that safeguards national environmental resources, build resilience to climate-related shocks, and advances sustainable development that leaves no one behind.”
He also made it clear to the boat owners that Sierra Leone is among the 10% of countries in the world most vulnerable to the adverse consequences of climate change, and presently one of the least countries able to cope with the effects.
Ahonsi made reference to the unpredictable weather patterns, severe flooding, and mudslides. He said associated crop failures are becoming more frequent even as the country is witnessing trees being cut down at a faster rate than being planted.
“And climate scientists tell us that if the world does not achieve a sharp drop in global warming in the next eight years, the natural calamities that we have seen in recent times around the world will be child’s play compared to what is to come,” he cautioned.
According to him, COP27, the 27th Conference of the Parties, taking place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt is the annual gathering by the United Nations of governments, and scientists. He said other key stakeholders from all countries of the world will review progress in efforts to avert environmental catastrophe, and address commitments contained in global climate action agreements.
Ahonsi said the African continent, the global region which has contributed the least to the on-going climate crisis, has experienced some of the worst losses and damages attributable to human-induced climate change.
He said as the continent hosts this year’s COP, the key preoccupation will be, generating a roadmap for the implementation of unfulfilled promises from previous COPs.
“This is especially in relation to the pending financial pledges made by rich countries to support developing countries like Sierra Leone to lessen the impact of and adapt to climate change,” Ahonsi, noted.
Among the other concrete proposals to be strongly canvassed at COP27 he said, is the establishment and activation within the next five years of an early warning system for climate emergencies that would cover the whole world.
He also talked about a pipeline of bankable climate-smart projects, around 400 in areas such as agriculture, energy, transportation, digital technologies and platforms, and organic products.
The UN representative noted that there will also be much attention to decisions and actions, especially financing, to address ‘loss and damage’ that are beyond countries’ abilities to cope with.
He said developing countries like Sierra Leone, is today plagued by a multi-faceted crisis of food insecurity, near-debt distress, galloping cost of living, and energy deficit which may be limiting attention to the clear and present danger posed by the climate crisis to humanity.
Ahonsi said the country must maximally exploit opportunities to benefit from innovative climate finance and sustainable solutions.
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online
