President Peter Mutharika has promised to present Malawi’s disaster situation and those of other least developed countries at the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference in Spain.
The conference, known as Conference of Parties (COP25), is expected to start in the Spanish capital, Madrid, on December 2 2019.
Speaking before departure at Kamuzu International Airport(KIA) in Lilongwe on Friday, Mutharika observed that the challenge of global warming has not spared Malawi as evidenced by devastating effects of floods and drought that continue to wreak havoc.
“I will present Malawi’s case and those of other least developed countries and also try to talk to these developed countries to reduce carbon emissions,” he said.
Mutharika, who will be attending the conference for the first time, also pointed out that through the conference the country will learn how to be resilient to disasters.
The conference is taking place two months after the Climate Change Action Summit held at the United Nations headquarters in New York, which Mutharika also attended.
Last year, Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining director Bright Kumwembe presented a national statement at the 24th Conference of Parties (COP24) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Katowice city in Poland.
In his speech, Kumwembe alluded to the post disaster assessment, which estimated that the country required $500.2 million to recover from the harsh effects of drought which damaged property and infrastructure worth about $365.9 million.
Source: The Nation_November 30, 2019_By Ntchindi Meki