Written by Yamikani Mwawa:
The Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DODMA) has stressed the critical need for establishing an effective financial mechanism to address climate damages, particularly in least developed countries.
Director responsible for recovery and rebuilding resilience at DODMA, Peter Chimangeni, stated this Friday during a preparatory meeting for the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference at Luanar.
“Countries with significant contributions to global climate change must provide substantial financial support to those with less impact but facing severe consequences,” Chimangeni underscored.
According to him, “Malawi currently requires over 2.1 billion US dollars to recover from climate change shocks experienced in the past eight years, including floods, droughts, and cyclones.”
“For the current year alone, the department needs 950 million US dollars to address losses and damages incurred during cyclone Freddy, affecting nearly 2 million people across the country,” Chimangeni revealed.
He urged the government to proactively address climate change-related issues by devising long-lasting solutions to the root causes of climate shocks, including allocating funds in national budgets for disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and resilience-building.
As Chimangeni highlighted the immediate financial needs, he called for a comprehensive approach in dealing with climate-related challenges.
The upcoming 28th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), commonly referred to as COP28, scheduled to take place from 30th November 2023, until 12th December 2023, at the Expo City in Dubai, will review progress on the globally adopted goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees.
