By Nellie Kapatuka

COP27 important platform for Malawi- Mkaka

Lilongwe, Mana: As the country grapples with climate change effects, it has been revealed that Malawi needs about $46.6 billion for climate change mitigation and adaptation initiatives.

Speaking in Lilongwe on Wednesday at a press briefing on the country’s position at COP27 slated for 6th to 18th November, 2022 in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Eisenhower Mkaka, said Malawi is a signatory to a number of treaties under the United Nations Congress on Climate Change where several commitments were made to contribute towards climate change adaptation and mitigation.

He said $46.6 billion is the country’s total projection in the implementation of Malawi’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement on cutting the greenhouse gas emissions which are causing global warming by 2040.

“Malawi, just like many other least developed countries, has the lowest contribution to climate change compared to the developed countries which have greatly contributed towards it, hence climate financing is one of our core businesses at COP27 to ensure that developed countries are able to finance and help developing countries in mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change,” explained Mkaka.

Concurring with Mkaka, UN Malawi Resident Coordinator, Maria do Valle Ribeiro, said it is sad that African countries continue to receive inadequate funding towards climate change.

She said the COP27 Agenda responds to Malawi’s needs to enhance climate change adaptation and economic growth, calling upon the country’s negotiators to be vigilant enough in ensuring that vulnerable communities are well represented at the global forum.

Representative of the Civil Society Network on Climate Change, Clement Ndiwo Banda, said climate crisis remains poverty-driver in Africa.

He called on financiers to move from rhetoric to adaptation finance mechanisms by among other things, ensuring that climate finances are delivered through grants and not loans.

Egyptian Ambassador to Malawi, His Excellency Mohamed Elsharif,said all is set for the COP27, saying it is a platform where important solutions to benefit future generations will be made.

Climate finance, loss and damage, gender and climate change Malawi are some of the key areas that Malawi will prioritise during the forum.

Malawi has been a party to the United Nations Convention to Climate Change since 1994.

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