| British govt to help Dar cope with climate | Send to a friend |
| Thursday, 29 April 2010 11:43 |
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The British government yesterday pledged more support to Tanzania in responding to major threats of climate change, including threat to poverty reduction, sustainable growth and potentially to national security. The British High Commissioner to Tanzania, Ms Diane Corner, said in Dar es Salaam yesterday the support by her government will aim at ensuring that the country’s development coped with climate change. She said the British government was undertaking work on the economic impact of climate change in Tanzania, including the costs of climate change impact and the adaptation needs. “For all of us, our response to climate change can either be a development disaster, or a development success story,” said the British envoy at the launch of a Climate Change Research Report conducted by the BBC World Service Trust in 10 African countries, including Tanzania. The project was supported by the British Council Tanzania. The report entitled Africa Talks Climate, is founded on the belief that those worst affected by the issue have the right to be better informed, in order to understand and respond effectively to their changing climate. Ms Corner added: “We have a choice, and we all—and by that I mean all the countries of the world—need to work together on this.” She said the three arms of the British government in Tanzania—the UK country team, the Department for International Development (DFID) and the British Council were all working towards supporting the government of Tanzania on climate change. “We coordinate our work closely, the High Commission leads on political input, the Department for International Development on development related and poverty alleviation aspects, and the British Council on stimulating debate and engaging with all sectors of society on this critical issue,” said Ms Corner. She said some of the work the British government was doing was to strengthen climate institutions including support for the government of Tanzania to prepare climate change negotiations in international fora and strengthening government institutions essential in coordinating Tanzania’s response to climate change. “We are also working with development partners and opinion formers, including media, to establish a coordinated response to climate change in Tanzania,” said the British High Commissioner. She said her government also needed to help smallholder farmers in coping with climate change by helping them to test new tools and practices, helping to strengthen early warning against malaria epidemics and strengthening early warning systems across the country. “It is important that the voices of vulnerable countries are heard in the global climate debate and to this end we have helped to raise Tanzania’s voice and profile internationally on climate change,” she said. The envoy said her government was also hoping to facilitate Tanzania’s access to UK initiatives on clean development technologies. Ms Corner said the UK was also backing Tanzania’s efforts to access new types of international finance linked to reductions in carbon emissions, adding: “To this end a few weeks ago we hosted a visit by British businesses looking for opportunities to invest in clean development initiatives. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |
