Staff Reporter
THE Environment Minister, Pohamba Shifeta, called for concerted efforts to combat climate change, emphasising the need for developed countries to provide resources to help developing countries achieve the targets under National Determined Contributions (NDCs) outlined under the Paris Agreement.
Shifeta made these remarks during the hybrid meeting of Ministers and High Authorities of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation from the Group of 77 (G77) and China. This meeting, which took place in the capital city of Cuba, Havana, was part of the 14th Convention on Environment and Development, which aimed to focus on discussions regarding climate change among other topics.
“Developed countries under United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change should walk the talk under the climate change commitments. We therefore would like to call on members of this group to collaborate and share relevant experiences to tackle climate change,” Shifeta added.
Shifeta’s sentiments were reiterated in the Declaration by Ministers and High Authorities of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation from the G77 and China. The declaration recognized the challenges facing developing countries in terms of economic, institutional, organizational, information, and awareness barriers. It also recognized that the lack of adequate funding for science, technology, and capacity building is a major challenge for developing countries.
“The ministers and high authorities responsible for environment, science, technology and innovation note with deep concern that the present disparities between developed and developing countries in terms of conditions, scope and capacities for generating new scientific and technological knowledge represent a serious obstacle to the socioeconomic development of the countries of the South and to that of the national science, technology and innovation systems needed for environmental protection measures,” the declaration read.
The ministers and high authorities, therefore, urged the international community, particularly the developed world, to provide new, additional, adequate, and predictable resources in line with the needs and priorities of the developing countries.
The declaration also highlighted the growing devastation caused by climate change as one of the most pressing global challenges, which threatens the survival of our species, biodiversity, and ecosystems while impeding sustainable development among developing countries, especially the poorest and most vulnerable nations.
“The ministers and high authorities responsible for environment, science, technology and innovation reiterate that the challenges of sustainable development cannot be overcome without facilitating access to and use of scientific knowledge, existing skills and technology transfer, at global level, to the benefit of the developing countries,” the declaration added.
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