Vice-President Michael Usi has taken advantage of the ongoing Climate Change Conference of Parties (CoP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan to hold bilateral meetings aimed at seeking development support, especially focusing on climate adaptation.
Yesterday, he held discussions with UN Secretary-General António Guterres on the thorny issue of wealthy countries’ reluctance to release funds for climate adaptation.
Said Usi: “The discussion looked at what ought to be done to release the funds to Malawi and other LDCs [Least Developed Countries].
“In the case of Malawi, the aftermaths of Cyclone Freddy are still wreaking havoc on communities. We are failing to recover fully because the pledges are not coming fully.”
He said the UN chief pledged support to the call by Malawi as chair of LDCs Group to have a collective voice at the centre of climate finance negotiations.
Earlier, the Vice-President expressed gratitude for the Green Climate Fund (GFF) support to Malawi when he met the fund’s chief investment officer Henry Gonzalez.
“We sincerely appreciate the recent approval of $33 million funding through Save the Children aimed at enhancing climate resilience in southern Malawi. This will go a long way in assisting our communities,” he said.
The project, Climate Resilient Health and Well-being for Rural Communities in southern Malawi, seeks to equip one-fifth of the region’s population to better manage health risks exacerbated by climate change.
Gonzalez expressed GCF’s commitment to supporting Malawi to implement various impactful projects.
Usi, who leaves Baku today for Malawi, has had discussions with Scotland Net Zero and Energy acting Cabinet secretary Gillian Martin. Since Tuesday when he addressed the conference, the Vice-President has had about five side meetings.
During the meeting, Martin also hinted that Scotland could begin supporting girl child education in Malawi in areas of information communications and technology.
