Parliaments should seek partnerships and sustain the push to contain emerging challenges and demands of climate change, legislators attending the International Meeting on Climate change have re-asserted.
In addition, Parliamentarians at the International Meeting of Parliamentarians on Climate Change: Durban and Beyond’ state that it is paramount for them to legislate towards or advocate for laws and policies to contain climate change.
While moderating a feedback session on the role of Parliamentarians in influencing regional and international agenda, Rt. Hon Abdirahin Abdi, Speaker of EALA urged legislators to engage other parliaments and to influence the Executive to uptake international Protocols related to climate change.
Rt. Hon Abdi informed delegates that the EAC had prioritized climate change at the highest Organ of the Community – the Summit.
‘ The Community is in the process of implementing three policy documents approved by the EAC Heads of State Summit in April 2011 namely; the EAC Climate Policy (2011); the EAC Food Security Action Plan (2011-2015) and the Heads of States Summit Declaration on Food Security and Climate Change’, the Speaker said.
The Speaker noted that the entire globe was today vulnerable to climate change. ‘ It is already evident and widely accepted that the world is warming and that all effort are necessary to stabilize global temperatures’, he remarked, adding that frequency and intensity of extreme events such as cyclones, floods, droughts and variable precipitation and sea level rise were increasingly been felt.
‘There is need to persuade bigger emitters to check the problem, push regional initiatives to stay the course and devote budgets to developing renewable energies if we are to reverse the trends’, Rt. Hon Abdi stated.
Hon Mel Sarmiento, MP from Philippines said his country had taken a proactive stand in containing climate change. He mentioned that the country had enacted the Solid Waste Act, Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act in response to the Kyoto Protocol (International Agreement linked to the United Nation’s Framework on climate change signed in December 11, 1997 with an aim to fight global warming). In addition, Parliament went further to enact the Climate Change Act 2009 and the Disaster Risk Management Act 2010 following the Hyogo Framework Action Plan (The HFA is a 10-year plan to make the world safer from natural hazards. It was adopted by 168 Member States of the United Nations in 2005 at the World Disaster Reduction Conference).
Hon Sarmiento informed delegates that a Climate Change Commission had been established in the Philippines to monitor the impact of climate change.
United Republic of Tanzania’s legislator, Hon Hamad Mohammed, MP, Zanzibar House of Representatives, reiterated the need to enforce legislation since climate change was porous and knew no borders. The legislator remarked that the United Republic of Tanzania had in effect endorsed all international conventions on environmental matters including that of climate change. ‘The government has prioritized climate change arising from its ramifications as we are victims. There is a looming water and wood shortage in Tanzania and as you may be aware, the glaciers atop Mt. Kilimanjaro are melting’ the MP said.
Mr. Claudio Monge, MP, Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica and Chair of the Committee on Environment informed delegates that Costa Rica was yet to witness serious problems of Climate Change but that the Executive and Legislature were concerned by the global impact of Climate Change. He stated that Costa Rica had enacted a law against exploitation to check on its natural resources and minerals. ‘Today 6% of bio-diversity in the world is found in Costa Rica. We intend to enhance the carbon neutral economy and check on emissions’, the MP said.
Over 30 participants from Asia and Pacific, Africa, the Americas and Europe are in attendance. Bangladesh Premier, Sheikh Hasina opened the three-day conference yesterday. The meeting takes place against a background of harsh climatic conditions occasioned by effects of global warming and follows the Durban Conference of Parties (COP 17) held in December last year. It shall among other areas, discuss the concepts of climate change and political impact and implications for Parliamentarians.
At the same time, the Bangladesh meeting sets the pace for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (RIO +20) scheduled to take place in June 2012 which lays emphasis on green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication.
The three day conference is expected to take an integral approach and will analyse links between climate change, global peace, sustainable development and achievement of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
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For more information, contact Bobi Odiko, Senior Public Relations Officer
East African Legislative Assembly, Tel: +255-27-2508240 Fax: +255-27-2503103, Cell: +255787-870945, +254-733-718036. Number in Bangladesh + 8801944790056
Email: BOdiko@eachq.org, Web: https://www.eala.org
