By Rhona Batamukuwa Kazungu
Uganda today experiences significant impacts of climate change such as unpredictable weather patterns, increased prevalence of extreme weather events such as floods, drought etc.
In March 2010, landslides in Bududa district buried houses, markets and a church in three villages killing an estimated 400 people and displacing 5000. 2019 alone had over 5 extreme weather events recorded in Bududa, Sironko, Bundibugyo, Butaleja, Bulambuli and Kasese among others, leaving hundreds of people homeless while others lost their lives.
We also cannot ignore the fact that over 80% of the rural population in Uganda cook using firewood resulting in forest cover loss rate of 2.6 % annually. This is a significant threat to the environment requiring urgent deployment of alternative energy saving sources.
Global warming’s effects influence our climate system causing long lasting changes to our climate change and threatening irreversible consequences.
According to UN’s thirteenth Sustainable Development Goal; humans are estimated to have caused approximately 1.0°C of global warming above pre-industrial levels. Sea levels have risen by about 20cm and are predicted to rise another 30-122cm. To limit global warming to 1.5°C, net CO2 emissions must drop by 45% between 2010 and 2030.
Secretary- General Antonio Guterres, recently said, “2021 is a make or break year…to confront the global climate emergency. Today’s interim report from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) shows governments are nowhere close to the level of ambition needed to limit climate change to 1.5 degrees and meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. The major emitters must step up with much more ambitious emissions reductions targets for 2030 in their Nationally Determined Contributions well before the November (2021) UN Climate Conference.”
The possibility of combating the effects that come about as a result of climate change is great; strong political will, increased investment and use of the existing technology and in turn calling for urgent and ambitious collective action are all a step in the right direction. Preserving the environment will not only push Goal 13 but also other sustainable development goals.
The government of Uganda shows plenty of dedication in its commitments to mitigate climate change and environment protection. Uganda launched its National Climate Change Policy in 2015. Uganda was also the first country in Africa to develop and endorse its Nationally Determined Contribution Plan in June 2018 making key commitments to reduce National Greenhouse gas emissions, reduce climate vulnerability of climate sensitive sectors.
Recognition of the need to address climate change so as to achieve sustainable development and green growth made the Paris Agreement valid and functional in Uganda in 2016. The country’s National Determined Contribution (NDC) offers a progressive strategy to climate change mitigation.
Uganda has actively taken to the NDC implementation planning process. A representation of Uganda’s proactivity is the gender analysis that explored the level of responsiveness of people of different gender presentations; male and female to the policies, legal frameworks, planning instruments, institutional arrangements and their suitability for coordinating climate change actions across all levels of government.
Further, this analysis explored gender equality gaps in three key NDC sectors in the country; agriculture, energy, waste and proposed measures to integrate gender responsive actions in the three sectors in a gender action plan.
Adaption actions such as tree growing, promoting diversified agricultural production to reduce climate risk and promotion of energy saving technologies among others steer Uganda towards meeting the agreement’s goals and reduce Green House Gas emissions to 22% by 2030. The commitments enhance the domestic efforts that are set out in the National Climate Change Policy and align with the country’s Vision 2040 and Uganda’s Green Growth Development Strategy 2017/18-2030/31.
With support from the World Bank, a number of projects have been undertaken. For instance, the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project whose aim is to reduce pollution of the Lake and enhance climate resilience in areas around it.
Other projects include the Climate-Smart Agriculture Support Project, the Uganda Clean Cooking Supply Chain Expansion Project, the Agricultural Technology and Agribusiness Advisory Services Project and the Uganda Regional Pastoral Livelihood Resilience Project.
These efforts should not make us complacent. The nationals and the government are a team. It is important that individuals in the nation, contribute consistently toward the mitigation of the risks of climate change together.
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