Shifeta to head local delegation to COP25 in Spain
Namibia will participate at the 25th Conference of Parties (COP25) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) scheduled for 2 to 13 December in Madrid, Spain.
The local delegation which will include various ministries, organisations and youth representatives will be led by the Minister of Environment and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta, the ministry said in a statement.
The objective of the UNFCCC is to stabilize concentrations of Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent man-made interference with the climate system and this year’s COP will focus on finalizing the Paris Agreement reached in 2015 at COP 21, the statement added.
The 197 Parties that make up the treaty – 196 nations plus the European Union – will seek to move towards the implementation of the agreements that have been reached under the Convention that lays down specific obligations for all Parties to fight climate change.
Having signed and ratified the Paris Agreement, nearly all African countries have committed to enhanced climate action through reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and building resilience.
For the continent, adaptation to the adverse impact of climate change is urgent. Now is the time to translate the commitments made by African countries under the Paris Agreement into action, by safeguarding development gains and building resilience against extreme weather events that are increasing in frequency and intensity.
The annual conference is the single global platform for all nations to negotiate an internationally agreed way forward to combat climate change.
The Ministry of Environment and Tourism is the focal point ministry to the UNFCCC. The government ratified the UNFCCC in May 1995.
