EU funds war against climate change
Bame Piet | Thursday June 18, 2015 15:16
Journalists were addressed on Monday in Gaborone by the head of EU delegation Alexander Baum, with French Ambassador Anne de la Blanche, Oliver Richard (British High Commission) and the German official Joachim Schmitt.
“The Climate Change Protocol, which will be decided in Paris will be the first climate change agreement to be applicable to all countries worldwide. The Kyoto Protocol, which was adopted in 1997 and entered into force in 2005, already was a first step towards limiting GHG emissions on a more global scale,” said Baum. He added that global warming is a challenge facing the entire globe irrespective of who is contributing how much greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere. He said the gases are produced by humans through activities such as transportation, building, deforestation, manufacturing, fertiliser use as well as burning fuel. He explained that whilst Botswana may not be producing significant amount of the gases, deforestation has been identified as the main contributor. He cautioned that climate change can lead to food insecurity, water scarcity and can result in spread of diseases such as Malaria. “Scientific evidence suggests that an average world temperature rise of more than 2 degree Celcius above pre-industrial level will greatly increase large scale, irreversible changes in the global environment. In this regard, climate change is a global issue that requires coordinated efforts at the international level,” he said.
He argued that the EU only emits around 10 percent of global emissions, and far below other industrialised countries such as China and the United States of America.
He said that all parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) are required to submit their proposed reduction targets for 2015 agreement as ‘Intended Nationally Determined Contributions’ (INDC’s) to the Paris conference. “The INDCs are prepared domestically by each country and are then presented to the UNFCC. So far, only a minority of countries, such as the EU member states, Canada, the US and Mexico, amongst others, have submitted their INDCs. Other countries such as China, have announced their INDCs but have not officially submitted them to the UNFCC,” he said. Gabon is the only African country that has submitted its INDC, Baum said.
French Ambassador advised that developing countries should explore other sources of energy instead of relying heavily on coal-powered stations. She said that there are technologies that can be employed to produce energy without causing any damage to the atmosphere. She cited solar energy as an advantage that Botswana government can seriously look into and that the EU was prepared to provide funding for any project along that direction. The diplomats concurred that the effects of global warming are felt differently across the world where some regions are experiencing floods whilst others are going through crucial droughts and dry spells.
As Gaborone Dam dries up, and with plans to build another coal-powered station to be operational by 2019, the government of Botswana may find itself between a rock and hard ground on which route to take. But the stance has always been clear, from the mouth of minister of Minerals, Energy and Water resources Kitso Mokaila that solar energy is very expensive and that Botswana should utilise its vast coal resources to produce energy and boost the economy.