The Sahel region is the perfect illustration of the interdependent link between climate change, security and sustainable development, said, Sunday in New York, minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Nasser Bourita.
In a speech on the occasion of the holding of a consultative meeting of the Climate Commission for the Sahel region at UN headquarters, Bourita stressed that "the Sahel region, like the African continent, is unduly and disproportionately affected by the consequences of global warming to which it contributes almost nothing".
In this regard, the minister noted that the organization of this meeting on the eve of the Climate Action Summit "is an appropriate opportunity to convey our messages to the United Nations and the world", stressing that a new approach is in place within the framework of the Sahel Commission.
"Our region is determined to take up its environmental challenges," he said, adding that "the First Africa Action Summit for Continental Co-emergence, held on the margins of COP22, at the initiative of HM King Mohammed VI, made it possible to enshrine this commitment".
Bourita stressed the need for a responsible and supportive commitment, noting that "if there is one promise to the Sahel today that should finally be honored, it is to help redress the imbalances caused by climate change".
In this context, he recalled that a commitment was made by international partners at the First Summit of heads of State and government of the Climate Commission for the Sahel Region held in Niamey in February 2019 to finance the implementation of the Regional Priority Programme of the Climate Commission for the Sahel Region, in the order of US$3.41 billion.
"This is an important step that should continue to provide this Commission with full bilateral, regional and international support for the implementation of the Climate Investment Plan (PIC-RS) in its entirety," he said.
MAP 23 September 2019