By Faridat Salifu
United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, has called on wealthy nations to fulfill their climate finance promises, urging them to provide financial support to poorer countries most affected by climate change.
Speaking to Lesotho’s Parliament recently, Guterres emphasized the urgent need for developed countries to meet their commitment of injecting $300 billion annually into climate finance for developing nations.
While this amount was agreed upon during recent climate talks in Azerbaijan, it still falls far short of the $1 trillion that poorer countries have been calling for.
Guterres highlighted the particular vulnerability of landlocked and least developed countries like Lesotho, which are experiencing severe impacts from global warming despite contributing little to the problem.
“Developed countries must meet their commitments and deliver the promised $300 billion annually for climate finance,” he stated.
He also reiterated the importance of swiftly operationalizing the newly established Loss and Damage Fund, which is designed to provide compensation to poor nations for the damage caused by natural disasters linked to climate change.
Guterres urged that this fund be generously financed by those nations most responsible for global climate disruption.
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The Secretary-General’s visit to Southern Africa comes amid a devastating drought that is ravaging the region.
In Lesotho, the drought has contributed to a national disaster, severely impacting crop production and triggering a hunger crisis that now affects more than 27 million people across Southern Africa.
While the drought is partly attributed to the El Niño phenomenon, experts also point to climate change as a driving factor behind the extreme weather events, including the recent cholera outbreaks and floods that have struck East Africa.
The World Meteorological Organization recently reported that African countries are losing up to 5 percent of their GDP annually due to the effects of climate change.
This disproportionate burden on the continent, which contributes only a small fraction to global emissions, underscores the urgent need for international support.
In addition to his climate finance calls, Guterres also addressed the issue of Africa’s lack of permanent representation on the UN Security Council. He reiterated his hope that, by the time his term ends in December 2026, Africa would have at least two permanent members on the Council.
“When a continent home to nearly a fifth of humanity remains systematically excluded from global decision-making, we must call this what it is – a relic of colonialism,” Guterres declared.
On the final day of his visit, Guterres is scheduled to visit the Katse Dam in Lesotho, part of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, which is aimed at addressing regional water shortages by redirecting water from Lesotho’s highlands to South Africa’s river system.
The project is crucial for ensuring water security in both countries and is a key part of Lesotho’s efforts to harness its water resources for economic and environmental sustainability.
