Govt lauds Nation Media Group for fight against climate change
2nd left to right (back row): Head of Marketing at NMG-U Elizabeth Namaganda, Programmes Director of Climate Hub International Clinton Mawanda, CEO of Youth Go-green Edwin Muhumuza, Team Leader of Climate change Action of East Africa Ronald Lwabaayi, Country Representative of Global Green Growth Institute Dagmar Zwebe, Head of Investments - Business Development Services at Agricultural Business Initiative Noah Owomugisha, and Commissioner of Climate change at Ministry of Water and Environment Margaret Atheino Mwebesa. Front row: Climate change ambassador Fina Mugerwa (left) and students of Makerere University at the Daily Monitor Climate Change Symposium in Kampala on October 20, 2022. PHOTO/FRANK BAGUMA
What you need to know:
The Commissioner for Climate Change in the Ministry of Water and Environment says the media group has been key in mobilising stakeholders to join the fight.
The government has commended Nation Media Group-Uganda (NMG-U) for utilising its different platforms to contribute to the national and global efforts intended to mitigate the effects of climate change and conserve the environment.
Uganda, just like many other countries, is grappling with the effects of climate change, which include rising temperatures that have resulted in prolonged dry spells in some areas, especially Karamoja and unpredictable rainfall patterns which have caused floods in some areas like Kasese.
While making a presentation on Uganda’s climate action plan during the Daily Monitor Climate Change Symposium at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel yesterday, the Commissioner for Climate Change in the Ministry of Water and Environment, Ms Margaret Atheino Mwebesa, said NMG-U has been key in mobilising stakeholders to deliberate on strategies for addressing what she described as a monster.
“Thank you NMG[-U], the symposium has been happening every year where people come together and talk about the monster of climate change. God created everything in its proportions, and everything was perfect, but man came in and distorted God’s work and we are now suffering,” Ms Mwebesa said.
She noted that human activities including wetland degradation, deforestation, poor garbage management, release of greenhouse gases like carbon, especially from industries, among others, were greatly contributing to climate change and must be stopped to conserve the environment.
“It is us human beings who are causing these problems and they affect the whole world. The northern hemisphere could warm up faster according to projections and high temperature will affect all of us. We need to work together to overcome such challenges,” she said.
The symposium, which was organised in partnership with the Ministry of Water and Environment and the Agricultural Business Initiative (aBi), was held under the theme: Accelerating a joint climate action for adaptation, mitigation and biodiversity conservation.
The Managing Director of NMG-U, Mr Tony Glencross, said it is everyone’s responsibility to mitigate the impact of climate change.
“Change starts with me, change starts with you, what we are doing in our homes, our schools, our offices to minimise the effects of climate change. These are the questions that we need to ponder. We must play our roles,” Mr Glecross said.
He added that NMG-U started organising the climate change symposium about four years ago with the objective of providing an open dialogue on climate change with relevant stakeholders and deliberating on issues that would lead to development in the context of climate change.
The Programmes Director of Climate Change Hub International, Mr Clinton Mawanda, said climate change is one of the deadly threats the world faces and that the 7.6 billion people in the world should rise against it.
The Chief Executive Officer of aBi Finance and Development, Mr Muguma Mona Ssebuliba, announced that a Shs7.5 billion green challenge fund had been launched to support small and medium scale farmers to scale up their green intervention.
