Summary: African leaders call for strengthened multilateralism to combat the environmental crisis

NAIROBI, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) — The high-level segment of the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) opened Thursday in the Kenyan capital Nairobi with African leaders reiterating their call for a revitalized multilateral system. to strengthen action against planetary threats, including climate change, habitat loss and pollution.

Kenyan President William Ruto, in his speech to the Assembly, said that given the existential threats facing the planet and its people, there was an urgent need to forge a multilateral consensus promising lasting solutions. “Only collective action at the multilateral level that is effective, inclusive and sustainable will enable the international community to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution,” Ruto said.

African heads of state and government participated in this two-day meeting, under the theme “Effective, inclusive and sustainable multilateral actions to combat climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.”

Ruto said international solidarity was imperative to strengthen the response to the intersecting ecological crisis, geopolitical tensions, conflicts and global inflation that cast a dark cloud over Africa’s sustainable development agenda. He added that marginalized African societies were on the precipice if concerted efforts were not made to end climate emergencies, marine pollution, overexploitation of species and depletion of the earth’s surface. ozone.

The Kenyan leader called for reform of multilateral institutions to ensure they are able to galvanize action against man-made global risks that have intensified poverty, hunger, disease and hostilities in Africa.

Other African leaders who addressed the UNEA-6 high-level segment included Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh.

Masisi said Africa had borne the brunt of climate disasters, chemical pollution and waste, and ecosystem degradation, requiring robust interventions supported by science, policy and sustainable financing. According to Masisi, Africa’s green and resilient future depends on transforming agricultural systems, adopting sustainable mining, transitioning to cleaner energy sources and expanding area of ​​biodiversity hotspots under protection.

Mohamud said melting ice caps, deforestation and ocean pollution have taken a heavy toll on local communities, undermining their resilience. He added that communities in the Horn of Africa have borne the brunt of rapid desertification and climate-related disasters such as droughts and floods, leading to severe food insecurity and forced migration.

Guelleh said Africa could secure a greener future once governments prioritize low-carbon development and invest in programs to reverse habitat loss.