FREETOWN, Sierra Leone, September 4, 2023/ — His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio has addressed the launch of Kenya’s Financing Locally Led Climate Action, FLLoCA, programme, as part of his engagement at the ongoing Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, where he congratulated the government on their innovative initiative.
“I wish to congratulate my dear brother and friend, President Ruto, for successfully launching this innovative initiative ─ a great example of a homegrown solution to a homegrown problem. There is a cliché that every politics is local. It is also true that climate impacts are local and affect the most vulnerable people in communities and far-off localities.
“I intend to replicate the Government of Kenya’s FLLoCA initiative in Sierra Leone to strengthen our 446 wards. I look forward to bilateral, South-South cooperation with our friends in Kenya to undertake the necessary assessments and formulation of a similar program in the near future.
“We hope our donor partners will be encouraged to support this learning model among African countries. Such cooperation could shorten the time for the design of various programs. It could also help countries move faster into developing bankable projects to crowd in more significant private investment flow,” he said.
President Bio also stated that Sierra Leone was amongst the 20 most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change, adding that the impact of Climate Change was real.
“We continue to experience storm surges, flash floods, and high winds, accompanied by pollution, landslides, mudslides, coastal erosion, deforestation, biodiversity loss, and increased prevalence of pests and diseases. If we do not act now, valuable ecosystems in Sierra Leone will be wiped out, and more communities will be displaced and their livelihoods destroyed,” he said.
The President that Sierra Leone was implementing a coordination and reporting mechanism for all climate-related activities and projects at Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies to facilitate and coordinate the country’s climate change programmes and projects to be developed in line with national programmes and the SDGs.
“The range of adaptation options has been well-defined through systemic and bottom-up national-level consultative processes. The process has been a significant achievement in raising awareness, building technical and institutional capacities, and integrating adaptation concerns into national development dialogues,” he concluded.
Earlier at the opening of the Africa Climate Summit, host President His Excellency Dr William Samoei Ruto, reminded his colleague leaders that trillions of dollars globally were looking for ‘green investment opportunities’ as the pressure to tackle the climate crisis heightened.
He said Africa was holding the key to accelerating decarbonisation of the global economy, adding that they as leaders were not just continent rich in resources, they were also a powerhouse of untapped potential, eager to engage and fairly compete in the global markets.
“Consider this: every year, Africa needs to generate approximately 30 million new jobs to accommodate its rapidly expanding workforce. These are not just numbers; these are 30 million opportunities to build our future, 30 million dreams that can be fulfilled through climate-proof avenues of growth and 30 million steps toward shared prosperity. The examples I have shared with you are not mere statistics; they are pragmatic routes for Africa to not only participate in the global economy but to excel and grow,” he said.
