PRIME Minister Dr Moeketsi Majoro has called on the international community and development partners to simplify the accessibility of funds earmarked for climate change.
business
Sept. 29, 2022
NEO SENOKO
3 min read
Funding earmarked for climate change should be simplified – Majoro
Prime Minister Dr Moeketsi Majoro
Story highlights
PM says some finances are channeled through multilateral agencies
Countries need to make concerted efforts to protect lives and empower citizenry
He made these remarks in his address during the 77th General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) on Saturday.
“While we appreciate that there are resources aimed at helping developing countries to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change, we are concerned that such funds are difficult to access. The global climate-finance architecture is complex, with variable structures of governance and modalities.
“Some finances are channeled through multilateral agencies, sometimes even outside the funding mechanisms of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and some laws through bilateral development assistance institutions, thereby making coordination difficult,” Dr Majoro said in his remarks.
He lamented that countries have disagreed far too long on the subject of climate change until they were confronted by the glaring and compelling scientific evidence that the link between global warming and human activity is indisputable.
Sadly, he said, catastrophes have begun to hit, mostly affecting the poorest and most vulnerable countries.
The PM further noted that the UN should continue to be the voice of the voiceless and the best hope for all humankind.
Now, he said, is the time for leaders everywhere to join the race for transformative action that can drive peace, democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law, human dignity, economic competitiveness, and sustainable prosperity for all.
“Lesotho will continue to be a persistent and resilient part of that initiative,” he showed.
Lesotho was amongst the 45 countries that presented their Voluntary National Reviews during the High-Level Political Forum on sustainable development.
Among other things, the country’s review highlighted the pressing challenge of climate change which has a direct bearing on food insecurity and poverty, not only in Lesotho but in Africa as a whole.
Dr Majoro said climate change destroys the country’s ecosystems and results in land degradation as well as contributes to the decline of agricultural productivity, which is the mainstay of small economies.
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“In this connection, my delegation calls upon all Member States to use the COP-27 meeting to be held on African soil, as an opportune time to address Africa’s challenges on climate change as well as support our needs and priorities in the form of affordable and sustainable energy, capacity adaptation and mitigation,” he added.
The session agreed that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the nature of multilateral engagement, diplomacy, business, and basic human interaction. The pandemic has not only hastened the pace and scale of the digital revolution but has also increased the gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots”.
Countries, therefore, need to make concerted efforts to protect lives and empower the citizenry across the globe through innovation and digital technologies to achieve sustainable recovery. It is therefore of paramount importance for African countries to be proactive and invest in research as well as development in readiness for certain future pandemics.
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