By: Sheikh Alkinky Sanyang in Belem, Brazil
As the world convened in the Amazonian resort city of Belem, Brazil, for positive global climate action, The Hon. Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources Hon. Rohey John Manjang gave a powerful speech in delivering Gambia`s National statement, noting that the Gambia is ready to work with all Parties in the spirit of equity, cooperation, accountability, and hope for posterity in the climate discourse.
She reminded COP30 that The Gambia, though among the nations least responsible for global greenhouse gas emissions, remains one of the most vulnerable to the devastating impacts of climate change. Our economy remains heavily dependent on climate-sensitive sectors, such as agriculture and fisheries, while our coastal zone is under increasing threat from sea-level rise and storm surge.
She, however, noted that despite limited resources, The Gambia has made determined progress that includes the country’s second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC2) that sets a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 49.7 % by 2030, while working toward a vision of net-zero emissions by 2050, costing 4 billion USD.
“We have also integrated climate considerations into our current national development plan, strengthened partnerships, and initiated the operationalization of nature-based solutions and broader resilience-building efforts. In addition, we have recently developed our Climate Prosperity Investment and Financing Strategy, which outlines a clear pathway for mobilizing resources and driving transformative climate-resilient growth”. Minister Manjang told the world gathering.
Minister Manjang, who has been recently appointed by the COP President to serve as Co-Chair alongside the Minister of Germany on the Global Goal for Adaptation (GGA), revealed that The Gambia underscores the urgency to move beyond theoretical ambition, to practical implementation of NDCs and is working to have a National Climate Change Act that will provide stronger legal framework on our climate action, adding that “Our climate ambitions depend on enabling conditions and means of implementation, including accessible finance, technology and capacity support to strengthen our national and local institutions for enhancing community resilience”.
Furthermore, the Gambian head of delegation said adaptation is no longer optional, but it is an urgent necessity for safeguarding lives, livelihoods, and ecosystems, especially in the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries. As we conclude the UAE–Belém Work Programme, The Gambia underscores that delivering the Global Goal on Adaptation requires moving beyond planning to scale, but rather predictable, and grant-based finance that enables real implementation on the ground. She advocated.
She therefore urged all Parties to constructively decide on adaptation indicators delivered by experts, and operationalize their implementation for tracking progress on achieving Global Climate Resilience. But she nonetheless warned, “Let me be clear: without accessible, reliable, and predictable Climate Finance, building resilience will remain mere aspirations. Therefore, we call for an inclusion significant increase in adaptation finance, particularly to LDCs and SIDs, consistent with Article 9.4 of the Paris Agreement, and substantial and timely contributions to the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), that corresponds to the scale of losses and damage suffered.
Only through these actions can adaptation become a pillar of global climate ambition and deliver meaningful resilience outcomes for the most vulnerable, she hammered.
The world gathered, concurring with great applause, she posited that The Gambia considers the recent International Court of Justice advisory opinion’s affirmation that restitution, including ecosystem restoration, is a legal obligation, reinforcing the justice dimension of loss and damage.
On Just Transition, equity, and special circumstances of LDCs and SIDs must be at the heart of all climate action, while we support the elevation of the Just Transition Work Programme, as a central pillar of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process.
In conclusion, she stressed that we cannot fail our future, and our only planet! We cannot fail our women, our children, and our youth, who are the most affected and the least contributors to the climate crisis. Therefore, The Gambia stands ready to work constructively with all Parties to deliver an outcome from Belém that is balanced and implementable, noting that finance must be at the heart of the decision pillar. “Let us leave Belém with renewed resolve, that we are united to strengthened hope and partnerships, with a clear path toward climate action and resilience for all”.
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By: Sheikh Alkinky Sanyang in Belem, Brazil As the world convened in the Amazonian resort city of Belem, Brazil, for…
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