The Government of Liberia through the Environmental Protection Agency has secured US$17.2 million in grant from Green Climate Fund (GCF) under the Monrovia Metropolitan Climate Resilient Project (MMCRP) also known as the West Point Coastal Defense Project.
The disclosure was made Tuesday, 12 July 2022 by Prof. Wilson K. Tarpeh, Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia (EPA) at the 3rd Cabinet Retreat in Ganta, Nimba County.
In a PowerPoint presentation, Prof. Tarpeh disclosed that the project has a livelihood component that will provide direct financial assistance to residents of affected communities to enable them start business.
According to the EPA Boss, 250, 000 vulnerable people are expected to benefit from the West Point Coastal Defense Project.
He also disclosed that a US$11.4 million has also been secured from GCF to enhance climate information systems.
The US$ 11.4 million which is managed by the Africa Development Bank will be used to install new meteorological systems at Robert International Airport (RIA) and the state-of-the art radar systems and associated support systems.
Prof. Tarpeh explained that a US$10 million from the Global Environment Fund (GEF) would also be made available to build a coastal defense regime in Greenville, Sinoe County.
Like the West Point Project, the Sinoe Project has a component to provide financial assistance to residents of affected communities to support alternative livelihood activities.
According to him, the project targets approximately 100,000 vulnerable people from Sinoe County. The fund would be managed by the United Nations Development Program.
Speaking further, the EPA Executive Director disclosed that President George M. Weah elevated the issue of climate change and the environment to a forefront of national conversation and political engagement when he spoke at Conference of the Parties or COP26 in Glasgow, United Kingdom.
“Your successful hosting of the National Conference on the Environment and Climate Change in June 2021, few months after the U.S. returned to the Paris Agreement, propelled Liberia to the top of the global radar of the UNFCC. No leader before you has ever taken this ambitious and strategic route to underscore the significance of Liberia to providing oxygen to global lungs,” Prof. Tarpeh said at the retreat.
Prof. Tarpeh noted that at COP26 in Glasgow, President Weah reinforced Liberia’s position as one of three chambers of the global lung.
“Your call for a carbon credit facility has now become the subject of conversation in the UNFCCC. Your speech highlighted the imbalance in the current architecture of climate finance and particularly called for fundamental shift in the way the world tackle the mismatch in climate investments today,” he added.
According to him, President Weah’s offer to host the conference on African Carbon Credit Trading Mechanism has further elevated Liberia at a higher standard on the international stage.
The EPA Boss also disclosed that in April, President Weah constituted the EPA’s first functional Board of Directors, thus completing a critical and necessary requirement in the governance structure of the entity.
“This assembly of very serious, experienced, and diversified Liberians has provided the opportunity for the effective management of the institution with strong oversight,” Prof. Tarpeh said lauding President Weah.
He lauded staff of the EPA for working to ensure environmental governance and protection, noting “the most important asset of the EPA is the corps of highly skilled and disciplined people who go to work every day ready and prepared to do their work.