Ugandans urged to plant trees to mitigate climate change
Ministry of Water and Environment climate change Commissioner Margaret Athieno Mwebesa addresses guests during a Climate Change Symposium in Kampala on October 20, 2022. PHOTO/SYLVIA KATUSHABE
What you need to know:
- Uganda has initiated actions to build its regulatory, institutional and technical capacities to participate in voluntary carbon markets.
Ministry of Water and Environment climate change Commissioner Margaret Athieno Mwebesa has urged Ugandans to plant trees to mitigate climate change in the country.
"Yes, some were God-given but we have gone a long way and cut many of them and they need to be replaced," Ms Mwebesa said.
Speaking to Monitor, Ms Mwebesa said that human activities such as deforestation, wetland degradation, release of greenhouse gases like carbon from industries have greatly contributed to climate change.
“Such activities must be stopped if the country is to mitigate climate change,” she remarked on October 20.
Uganda’s resident representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Ms Elsie Attafuah urged government to invest in climate-mitigation initiatives.
“Imperatively, Uganda needs more robust climate-financing facilities, underpinned by government-to-government, cross-regional collaboration and private sector participation in carbon markets,” Ms Attafuah highlighted on Thursday.
Senior climate change mitigation officer at the Ministry of Water and Environment Ms Irene Chekwoti said trees will play a major role for the country’s target to reduce its net emissions.
“We must increase our forest cover from 12.4percent in 2020 to 21perecent by 2030. Our wetland coverage must also increase from 8.9percent in 2020 to 12percent by 2030,” she emphasized.
Ms Chekwoti added: Trees will not only help to mitigate climate but also enable farmers to earn as the country participates in carbon markets to reduce carbon emissions.”
Uganda has initiated actions to build its regulatory, institutional and technical capacities to participate in voluntary carbon markets.
“Government has already outlined its updated National Determined Contributions (NDCs) to raise its ambitions for emission reduction, Ms Chekwoti said in Kampala.
In 2015, Uganda signed the Paris agreement to address the sustainable development goals, tackle climate change and its negative impacts during the UN climate change Conference (COP21) in Paris.
