Senegal's environment minister at COP31 urges developed countries to honor financial pledges

Senegalese Minister of Environment and Ecological Transition Aliou Gorgui Diouf urged developed countries to stop delaying and honor their financial commitments to address climate change, stressing that Africa accounts for less than 4 percent of emissions but is the hardest hit.

Senegalese Minister of Environment and Ecological Transition Aliou Gorgui Diouf called on developed countries to honor the financial commitments they made years ago to help developing countries address climate change. He made the appeal on the sidelines of the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31), held in Antalya, Türkiye.

Speaking to Anadolu, Diouf said Senegal had come to the conference "to defend its interests and those of Africa" and, together with African and developing countries, had brought a strong message that developed countries must honor their financial commitments.

Villages forced to relocate

The minister said his country was facing extremely serious impacts from climate change, stating: "Rising sea levels are destroying villages, homes, ecosystems, trees and livelihoods today, and some villages have been forced to relocate. Drought is reducing agricultural productivity in Senegal, while floods cause damage every year."

He noted that African countries contribute no more than 4 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, yet they are the most exposed to the consequences of climate change. He added that developing countries are forced to borrow from the very countries that caused the crisis to cope with its effects, "and this is a great injustice."

اجتماع تحالف وزراء المالية للعمل المناخي على هامش كوب31 في أنطاليا

A human rights issue

Diouf said climate change raises a human rights issue, calling on Western countries to recognize the suffering of farmers who can no longer support their families and whose homes have been destroyed by waves, and to put an end to delays in mobilizing financial resources.

The minister praised Türkiye's leadership of the conference, saying it wanted the event to be "a conference of implementation, action and consensus," an approach reflected in President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's address to the leaders' summit. He added that Senegal planned to strengthen environmental cooperation with the Turkish private sector, beginning with the Zero Waste initiative led by Emine Erdoğan.

Photos: Anadolu, UN Climate Change

Senegal's environment minister at COP31 urges developed countries to honor financial pledges