COP26 CVF Leaders’ Dialogue Statement by H.E. Beatrice Atim Anywar, Hon. Minister of State for the Environment of Uganda

Climate Vulnerable Forum Leaders Dialogue COP26

4:15 – 6:15 pm 2 November 2021 – UNFCCC COP26, Glasgow, Scotland

Intervention by H.E. Beatrice Atim Anywar

 Hon. Minister of State for the Environment of Uganda

Honorable Chair H.E. Sheikh Hasina Wazed, Hon. Prime Minister of Bangladesh,

Excellencies, 

Honorable Ministers, 

Esteemed colleagues of the CVF, 

Distinguished Participants and Guests,

I am pleased to share this message with you today as you convene this High Level Meeting.

Uganda is extremely vulnerable to climate change and variability; its economy and people’s well-being are inextricably linked to the climate.  Climate change caused by humans has the potential to halt or reverse the country’s development trajectory in the coming century. Climate change, in particular, is likely to result in increased food insecurity, shifts in the spread of diseases such as malaria, soil erosion and land degradation, flood damage to infrastructure and settlements, and shifts in agricultural and natural resource productivity. 

The poor and vulnerable will bear the brunt of these effects, despite the fact that climate change has serious implications for the country’s economy, with a shift in the viability of coffee-growing areas, for example, potentially wiping out US $265.8 million, or 40% of export revenue. Climate change may exacerbate poverty and migration, as well as increase competition for strategic water resources, resulting in regional insecurity.

Uganda has undertaken steps to implement the NDC and increase its ambition. Most significantly is Uganda’s formulation of the National Climate Change Act 2021 to give the force of law to the Paris Agreement. theinterim NDC aims to further strengthen mitigation actions on one part as well as adaptation actions. Adaptation remains the country’s priority response to climate change. 

5 years ago the Paris Agreement was celebrated, with the goal of limiting global warming below 2, preferably 1.5 degrees C. However, emissions continue to rise.

This year, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change report on the Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement indicates that the world is on a catastrophic pathway to 2.7-degrees of heating. The Revised Nationally Determined Contributions presented before this COP26 are not ambitious enough to put the world back on track to a sustainable and climate just future.

We strongly call on all Parties for bold and urgent actions to limit the impact of global warming and to communicate and implement urgently much greater ambition in the NDCs by raising ambition significantly to achieve the 1.5ºC goal under Paris. This is why we support the Dhaka Glasgow declaration which response the issue of climate Climate emergency pact as it holistic lay respond to the climate emergency.   

Saving lives and livelihoods requires urgent action to address the climate emergency.

Chair, Distinguished Delegates

What happens in the COP26 is extremely important for the future of humanity, the successful – or not- of the COP26 will have direct repercussions on the livelihoods of the most vulnerable people.

There is no time to waste.

A path to a sustainable and just future does not include fossil fuels.

As a new member of the CVF, Uganda looks forward to collaborating with other CVF members to ensure a cleaner, more just, and equitable future.

Thank you

COP26 CVF Leaders’ Dialogue Statement by E. Beatrice Atim Anywar