Taking the CCPM to the UN

Julius Ng'oma is a veteran Malawian climate change campaigner. As the National Coordinator for Civil Society Network on Climate Change (CISONECC) he works with the CCPM to ensure that communities we work with have a voice in Malawian politics and that their concerns about climate change are heard.

He’s in Katowice, Poland for the 24th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (COP) on climate change to carry the voice of the CCPM communities to a global stage, and make world leaders listen to those most affected by climate change, which he's blogged about below. 

Approximately 80% of Malawians depend on rain fed agriculture and renewable natural resources for their household income. Therefore I can see climate change is becoming an increasing threat to our economy.

The National Climate Change Management Policy (2016) indicates that if Malawi does not act now, the overall direct costs due to climate change on the economy, agriculture and food security will be huge. Already the direct cost of droughts and floods is about 1.7% of Malawi’s GDP every year.

Malawi, as one of the world’s poorest countries, needs additional funding to adapt to negative impacts of climate change. At previous UNFCCC COP negotiations, developed countries agreed to create dedicated funds, namely the Adaptation Fund (under Kyoto Protocol) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) (COP16), to help developing countries such as Malawi finance climate change adaptation and mitigation work. These funds are unique in their emphasis on providing money directly to national institutions in developing counties. Unfortunately, meeting requirements to apply for funding has not been easy for all countries including Malawi.

This is what’s happening with the CCPM and why the empowerment of the local communities using the citizen-led approach is so important. This approach will ensure that the needs, priorities and aspirations of the local communities particularly the vulnerable groups are incorporated into the various adaptation planning processes.

I really hope that this conference will see the completion and adoption of the Paris rule book so the world finally starts to take real action on climate change.