Climate Change: Finance is key to human survival
Participants and speakers at the 10th Global Landscape Forum 2023 (GLF 2023) have called for adequate funding from the West to frontline countries to take climate actions to secure human survival on earth.
They said climate actions needed to keep the rising temperature in check, including the restoration of degraded lands, mangroves and upscaling of indigenous agriculture technologies required finance.
A new financial architecture, they said was required to fund research and development as well as improve on indigenous knowledge for sustainability.
Madam Sandrine Dixson Decleve, CO-President Club of Rome, speaking at the closing ceremony of GLF 2023 in Nairobi, urged governments to address issues on poverty, inequality, empowerment, energy and food security.
The conference brought together leading African changemakers, scientists, practitioners and community leaders from 130 countries, who discussed issues, including ways to build resilience to the climate crisis and ecological challenges.
Madam Decleve said the West’s inability to support the global south to address those five key issues would thwart efforts to live in harmony with nature.
“Wealth distribution is not the best, even in the western world. Debt cancellation must be considered. Women need to be empowered and involved in decision making because they are at the frontline of climate crisis,” she said.
Professor Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, Chair CGIAR System Board, suggested to Governments, especially those in Africa to create a favorable environment by dedicating adequate funding to research and development.
“There are many innovations already. What is left is to practicalise and integrate with the indigenous ones and upscale,” she said.
Mr Tim Christophersen, Vice President Climate Action Salesforce, called for strong leadership and effective coordination of climate actions to live with climate crisis.
He said daily actions should always have people, planet and prosperity at the fulcrum.
Ms Lyla June, an Indigenous Musician and Author, noted that the approach to addressing climate crisis should include respect, responsibility, restoration and not maximising profit.
“If we do not turn away from profit making mentality, then we will all perish,” she said.
The “GLF Nairobi 2023 Hybrid Conference: A New Vision for Earth” took place in Nairobi and online, gathering leading scientists, activists, indigenous leaders, financiers, women, youth, policymakers, the private sector and more.
Day one focused on African sovereign solutions.
Day two will gather a global audience in crafting a survival guide for a planet in crisis and set the stage for a fairer world ahead of the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (COP28).
Source: GNA