Nine days ahead of the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 28) in Dubai, Anna Shigwedha, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, emphasised the importance for joint efforts to address the challenges of climate change.
‘We are in a climate crisis that has largely been caused by more industrialised economies,’ Shigwedha said in a keynote address delivered at the SASSCAL Climate Change Dialogue Namibia Conference in Windhoek on Tuesday.
‘It is an important time in the history of Africa as the world is getting ready to compensate Africa through climate change laws and a damage fund,’ Shigwedha asserted. The SASSCAL conference serves as a platform for government ministries, experts and other key stakeholders to deliberate on climate issues critical to national climate change policies.
The deputy minister’s address touched upon the necessity of sustaining institutions like SASSCAL, the Southern African Sciences Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management, and the
importance of regional collaboration.
Shigwedha acknowledged Namibia’s commitment to the cause through the signing and ratification of the SASSCAL treaty, and urged other member states to follow suit. She emphasised the need for SASSCAL to expand its membership beyond the current states of Angola, Botswana, South Africa, Zambia, Germany and Namibia, recognising that climate change knows no borders.
Looking ahead, Shigwedha revealed details regarding the construction of the SASSCAL headquarters.
‘The construction is expected to commence at the end of this quarter or 2024,’ she said. The government is funding the project with N.dollars 36 million.
In addition, the deputy minister championed the advancement into renewable energy, particularly through green hydrogen initiatives.
‘As a part of the joint communiqué between Namibia and Germany SASSCAL is overseeing the establishment of the first green hydrogen village in Africa, Daures Green Hydrogen Village,’ said Shigwedha, calling the construction of the vil
lage ‘a milestone’.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency