COP27: Recognise Africa special circumstances and needs

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Zimbabwe is making its voice heard as it is aligned with the African Group position led by Zambia on calling for the recognition of Africa’s special circumstances and needs.

The Deputy Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism, and Hospitality Industry for Zimbabwe, Hon Barbara Rwodzi, said that Africa is a continent plagued by complex overlapping challenges and many generations of Africans have been left behind and suffer consequences of actions not of their own making.

More than 650 million people lack access to electricity and over 900 million lack access to clean cooking. The systematic problems facing Africa require dedicated and targeted interventions.

She also articulated that the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on SDGs adopted the Ministerial declaration 2022 which recognises the special situations of African countries.

Developing countries are the least polluters but they bear the brunt of climate change. Natural disasters like Cyclone Idai that hit Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe demonstrated the need to support Africa’s adaptive capacity in the face of risks associated with climate change.