NAIROBI, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- African governments should move fast to enact forward-looking laws aimed at boosting the fight against climate change, a United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) official said on Thursday.
Rose Mwebaza, director and regional representative for Africa in UNEP, said recent extreme weather events across Africa are evidence of the worsening climate crisis, hence the need for legal intervention to halt the phenomenon.
"Without strong legal frameworks, climate action initiatives risk remaining fragmented and ineffective," Mwebaza told the Africa Network of Parliamentarians on Climate Change (ANPCC) meeting in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.
She called for the integration of climate laws with biodiversity and desertification frameworks to ensure a holistic approach to environmental protection, adding that UNEP is committed to supporting African legislators in advancing climate policies.
The UNEP official underscored the importance of the Model Climate Change Law and its potential to provide a legal framework for African countries to access climate finance.
Emile Guirieoulou, chairperson of the ANPCC and a lawmaker from Cote d'Ivoire, emphasized the importance of a legislative approach in advancing climate change response across the continent.
Guirieoulou said legislative clarity is needed to prioritize climate change issues in the national development agenda.
George Wamukoya, team leader of the African Group of Negotiators Experts Support, said the draft model law is nearing completion and pending final input from lawmakers and other stakeholders who are involved in enacting and overseeing the implementation of climate policies.
The ANPCC meeting brought together lawmakers, climate experts, and representatives from UNEP to discuss a comprehensive legislative framework for addressing climate change in Africa as well as the development and finalization of the Model Climate Change Law for the continent.
