By Fostina Mkandawire-Mana
President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika on Tuesday expressed optimism that devastating impacts of climate change can be reversed by following control measures put in place.
Mutharika made the remarks on arrival at Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe from this year’s 25th Session of the Conference of Parties (CoP 25) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change which took place in Madrid, Spain.
Mutharika said control measures such as cutting out carbon emissions, planting trees and reducing pollutants can help reverse the threats and impacts of climate change.
He said he also asked for financial support on behalf of developing countries to further address the impacts of climate change.
Malawi was privileged to be among six African countries that were invited to attend the summit and president Mutharika spoke on behalf of developing countries on the adverse effects of climate change such as global warming.
“The world is evolving at a fast rate due to climate change, in 100 years this world will not be the way we know it now, the weather is getting warmer and warmer, to the extent that it will not be able to support human life,” he said.
He sighted the drying up of rivers in Malawi and low water levels in most of the lakes in Malawi and the rest of the world as clear signs of bearing the cost of climate change, and that something was to be done to make sure that the situation does not worsen further posing great risks to the world in the future.
This year’s conference focused on putting the 2015 Paris agreement into practice with the aim of cutting on greenhouse gas emissions which are a major culprit of climate change.
The conference was also a preparatory meeting for the 2020 climate conference which will take place in the UK where it is expected that long term responses to climate change emergency will be decided.
Out of the 35 Presidents who were invited from across the world, only six African Presidents were invited, this includes President Saadeddine Othmani Of Morroco, President José Mário Vaz of Guinea Bissau, King Mswati III of Eswatin, President Sassou Nguesso of Congo Brazaville, President Prof. Arthur Peter Mutharika of Malawi and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda.
