The Swedish Government says it has approved and adopted Sweden’s new development cooperation strategy in Liberia valued at an estimated US$212 million.
According to Swedish Ambassador Ingrid Wetterqvist, the new strategy which runs from 2021 to 2025 is a 40 percent increment from the previous strategy.
Wetterqvist made the disclosure on Wednesday during the National Conference on the Environment and Climate Change held at the Ministerial Complex in Congo Town in Monrovia.
She noted that one of the key pillars of the new strategy is environment, climate and sustainable use of natural resources which are in line with the Sustainable Development Goals 13, 14 and 15.
She pointed out that with this new pillar, the Swedish Government will support climate and smart agriculture to improve food security, enhance agricultural productivity including improved land use practices as well as support to agricultural inputs.
“We will also support building community’s resilience through climate change mitigation and adaptation, conduct environment, climate change and biodiversity scoping study to understand gaps in the embassy’s strategic engagement,” Wetterqvist added.
Meanwhile, the British Ambassador Neil Bradley said developed countries have a responsibility to lead on climate action, but everyone, especially major economies must play their part.
He stated that developed nations should imagine what it is like for communities on the frontline of climate change, struggling to deal with a crisis they did next to nothing to create.
He stressed that developed countries invest trillions overnight to address the COVID-19 pandemic, whilst ‘the US$100 billion a year that we have promised to support developing countries to respond to the climate crisis remains uncertain.
He disclosed that the United Kingdom is playing its part, “doubling our international climate finance to 11.6 billion pounds over five years.”
Bradley maintained that as donor countries, “we must all keep our obligation and deliver on that US$100 billion for without adequate finance the task ahead is near impossible.”
Chinese Ambassador Ren Yisheng, for his part, said the conference demonstrates the great importance attached by the Liberian government to environment protection and climate change.
Addressing the conference, he said lucid water and lush mountains are invaluable assets and that there is only one globe pointing out, “ We need to implement development concept of innovation, coordination, greenness, openness, and shared benefits by accelerating the formation of spatial patterns, industrial structures, production methods, and lifestyles that conserve resources and protect the environment, and leave natural ecology with rest and recuperation.”
He therefore urged the international community to help each other and work together to ensure that development and green transformation; reinforce each other and facilitate the upgrading of the quality of development and as well pay great attention to the concerns and appeals of developing countries by increasing technology, financial and capacity support to help achieve a green and low-carbon transformation.
“China has carried out a series of fundamental, pioneering and long-term work, accelerated the promotion of the top-level design of ecological civilization and the construction of institutional systems, strengthened the construction of the rule of law, established and implemented the central environmental protection inspection system, and vigorously promoted green development and has achieved remarkable results in tackling desertification, air, soil and water pollution, and in developing such clean and green energy as solar power and wind power,” the ambassador asserted.
Ambassador Yisheng said China is firmly committed to working together with other parties to strengthen implementation of the Paris Agreement and as the largest developing country, China is making arduous and exceptional efforts to achieve the modernization goal by the middle of this century while realizing low-carbon and green development.