United Kingdom (UK) Energy, Clean Growth and Climate Change Minister Anne- Marie Trevelyan will arrive in Malawi today for a visit that will see her fulfilling engagements up to August 5.
British High Commission Communications Manager Benson Linje confirmed the development, saying the legislator’s visit will also help the two countries work together in tackling climate change in the run-up to the Conference of Parties (CoP)26 Conference and beyond.
“Trevelyan, who is also the UK International Champion on Adaptation and Resilience for the CoP26 Presidency, will seek to understand how Malawi is adapting to climate change impacts and playing its part on international climate action. As the International Champion on Adaptation and Resilience, Trevelyan leads discussions between national governments, the international community and business on adaptation and resilience. This means working towards supporting countries, including those most affected by climate change, to increase action to adapt to its impacts and build resilience for the future.
“During her time in Malawi, she will meet business leaders, women and youth groups, development partners and government leaders at the forefront of interventions aimed at supporting communities and the country at large to adapt to climate change, build resilience and support sustainable economic growth,” a statement from the British High Commission in Lilongwe reads.
The visit by Trevelyan comes when in just under 100 days the UK hosts the United Kingdom climate change conference CoP26, in Glasgow [Scotland], in partnership with Italy.
Trevelyan was appointed as Minister of State (Minister for Energy, Clean Growth and Climate Change) at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on January 8 2021.
Previously, Anne-Marie was Secretary of State for International Development from February to September 2020. She was Minister of State for the Armed Forces from December 17 2019 to February 13 2020 and Minister for Defence Procurement from July 27 2019 to December 16 2019. She was first elected as Member of Parliament for the Berwick-upon-Tweed constituency at the 2015 general election.
Speaking ahead of the visit, the minister is quoted as saying: “Like many developing countries, Malawi has contributed only a tiny fraction of global carbon emissions and yet it is on the frontline of climate change, suffering the devastating impacts.
“The UK’s CoP26 Presidency is committed to protecting vulnerable communities from climate impacts, by driving global action on adaptation and, so, I look forward to seeing and hearing about Malawi’s own experiences and efforts, and discussing how we can further work together to build the resilience of communities and countries around the world.”
Source: The Daily Times_Monday, 2 August 2021_by Richard Chirombo