Parliaments in African countries urged to promote climate change legislation

The Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum (SADC-PF), a regional inter-parliamentary body, on Friday called on parliaments of its member states to promote legislation, budgets and oversight initiatives to prevent global warming.

The forum wishes to associate itself with the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) campaign which is designed to promote parliamentary delivery in the field of climate emergency, said SADC-PF Secretary-General Boemo Mmandu Sekgoma in a statement.

The IPU, a global organization of national parliaments, launched early this year a campaign, Parliaments for the Planet, which was designed to mobilize parliaments and parliamentarians to act on the climate emergency.

According to Sekgoma, in line with the IPU campaign, environmental protection and disaster preparedness and recovery constitute key issues calling for reform by parliaments in line with government agendas and strategies.

“In particular, the voices of women and those most vulnerable to climate disasters must be included through a participatory process so that parliamentary measures are geared to protect those who need them the most,” she added.

Sekgoma further noted that in the years to come, the SADC-PF will remain supportive of parliamentary activities which involve environmental protection and gender mainstreaming in climate action.

The SADC-PF is composed of 15 parliaments representing more than 3,500 parliamentarians in the SADC region, where climate change has affected the lives of millions of people. Enditem