By Peter Phiri:
President Lazarus Chakwera has called on the need for radical lifestyle change if the battle against climate change is to be won.
Chakwera made the remarks when he presided over the first ever National Children’s Summit on Climate Change in Lilongwe.
The summit comes at a time when Malawi is still recovering from the devastating effects of the Tropical Cyclones which left millions of Malawians a majority of them women and children displaced in the country.
Speaking when he presided over the summit, Chakwera said certain things must change instantly if the battle against climate change is to be won both at national and global level.
“We are in a critical time as a country because we can no longer hide from climate change impacts. It is right for government to take these responsibilities, because the suffering that the climate change impacts cause affects women and children,” said Chakwera.
The Malawi leader has therefore proposed on the need for the country to go beyond climate change resilience and relief if the battle against Climate change is to be a success.
“If we want to achieve climate change justice, if we want to create a future in which those of you who are children today will flourish, then our response has to go beyond relief and resilience. This means we need to make radical changes in our way of life as a country and in our relationship with the environment,” said the Malawi leader.
Currently the Government of Malawi and its partners has already disbursed MK44.5 billion to help cushion over 3.8 million people affected by the recent tropical Cyclones.
The Children’s climate change summit has been organised in partnership with Save the Children and will run for 3 days.
