The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
Moses Wetang’ula, the National Assembly Speaker, underscored the vital role played by Parliaments in addressing climate change. Speaking at a Commonwealth Speakers forum in Uganda, Wetang’ula emphasized the increasing frequency and severity of climate-related shocks hindering poverty eradication in the continent.
During the event, Wetang’ula, accompanied by Senate counterpart Amason Jeffa Kingi and other parliamentary officials, noted that Commonwealth countries, particularly those in the global south, are most vulnerable to climate change despite contributing the least. Wetang’ula expressed concerns that Africa bears an unfair impact from climate change, contributing less than 4% of total greenhouse gas emissions.
Wetang’ula urged Commonwealth Parliaments, representing the people, to provide leadership in confronting global challenges, setting policy directions, translating global processes into domestic legislation, creating awareness, and pushing governments to act responsibly. He called for continuous capacity-building for legislators on tackling climate change and emphasized the importance of adequate budgets.
President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, hosting the conference, stated its impact on global leaders of Parliaments with a combined population of 2.4 billion people. He advocated for a symbiotic existence between African states and their colonial masters, promoting good values for socio-economic development.
Speaker Anita Among highlighted the conference’s objectives, aiming to maintain fairness among Speakers and presiding officers of Parliaments. She called for countries to harmonize climate change legislation to pool resources and mitigate diverse effects. The Commonwealth Speakers forum operates on a two-year cycle, bringing together the leaders of national Parliaments.
