污污漫畫

Mr. Gabriel Kpaka, Chair of the LDC Expert Group 

Ms. Madeleine Diouf Sarr, Chair of the UNFCCC LDC Group,  

Excellencies,  

Distinguished Colleagues,   

I thank the LDC Expert Group for inviting me to speak at this important event. And I thank the LEG for providing continued invaluable support to the LDCs on capacity building and technical support, especially for preparing NAPs. The work of this Group is of critical importance to building resilience in the LDCs, but the work also benefits the developing countries as a whole. 

Last year at Sharm-el-Sheikh, we celebrated twenty years of support for the LDC Group. Since then, we have taken several significant steps forward. At this COP, we have already made significant progress on operationalizing the loss and damage fund. The various pledges made are an important first step in capitalizing the fund, but far more is needed. 

Excellencies, colleagues, 

Allow me to share some recent developments from my Office to support the LDCs in addressing climate change. 

First, the Fifth UN Conference on the LDCs, which was organized by my Office in Doha, Qatar in March of this year, demonstrated strong political commitment to mobilize further resources and partnerships to implement the Doha Programme of Action for the LDCs. In Doha, many new commitments and partnerships were announced in support of climate action in LDCs at the different tracks of the Conference, including the private sector forum, the meeting of UN system principals convened by the UN Secretary-General, as well as the Ministerial meeting on South-South cooperation, and other stakeholder events. The DPOA itself has highlighted climate vulnerability as a major obstacle for the LDCs’ efforts to achieve sustainable development. It commits to mainstreaming resilience building across the various   priority areas of the Programme of Action, including key areas such as infrastructure, sustainable energy, ICT, sustainable industrialization, building productive capacity, leveraging science, technology and innovation, and more. The new Programme of Action for the LDCs emphasized prioritizing adaptation and the preparation of national adaptation plans (NAP).   To support its implementation, my Office is actively seeking to mobilize funding to support the 20 LDCs that are farthest behind in the preparation of their NAPs, in cooperation with the UNFCCC Secretariat. 

Second, my Office is working on a report to assess the status of multi-hazard early warning systems in LDCs and making recommendations for addressing gaps.  This will complement the Secretary-General’s Early Warning for All Initiative.  Currently, the Initiative has identified a first group of 30 countries for priority action that includes 19 least developed countries. In my role as a member of the Advisory Board of the Secretary General’s Early Warning for All Initiative, I am advocating for including more LDCs included among the priority countries, as well as ensuring that a fair share of funding flows to them. These activities are part of my engagement to operationalize one of the five deliverables of the Doha Programme of Action on enhanced resilience building.  As part of this overall package, my Office is also mobilizing technical assistance to LDCs on financial risk management especially as it relates to climate disasters and support them to engage with a consortium of leading companies from the insurance sector with a view to closing the gap in insurance coverage. 

Third and finally, I would like to your draw attention to two upcoming conferences which offer important opportunities to integrate adaptation planning into national sustainable development frameworks for the 25 LDCs that are also either LLDCs or SIDS, namely: 

• The fourth International Conference for the SIDS in Antigua and Barbuda, in May 2024; and the  

• The third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries Rwanda, in June 2024.    

The preparatory meetings for both these Conference have highlighted the important role of developing and implementing climate adaptation strategies for the new Programmes of Action. Such major international processes provide the opportunity to bring about synergies across international sustainable development frameworks, synergies on SDG implementation, and it also can further raise the political profile of securing greater adaptation funding in fora other than the climate change negotiations. In this regard, the upcoming Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development to be held in 2025 will offer important opportunities for further synergies with climate change finance. 

Excellencies, 

As I conclude, I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to the LEG for your strong support, as well as to the UNFCCC Secretariat for its work on the LEG, adaptation and the loss and damage process. You can count on my continued full support. 

I will rest it here.  

I thank you.