Africa-Press – Angola. The President of Angola and chairperson of the African Union, João Lourenço, said Monday that climate change increasingly threatens the planet with global warming, a result of increased greenhouse gas emissions.
Speaking at the opening of the 7th African Union-European Union Summit, the Angolan statesman said that the situation is caused by the excessive consumption of fossil fuels and the destruction of vast areas of forests, considered the lungs of the planet.
He declared that climate change continues to intensify, bringing consequences such as the significant increase in aggressive natural phenomena: hurricanes, typhoons, tornadoes, vast floods, landslides, severe droughts and forest fires.
“Unfortunately, we went from COP to COP, and we have already reached the 30th edition, held in Belém do Pará, in Brazil, without seeing a downward trend in climate change”, he lamented.
The Angolan Head of State highlighted that much has been said, but little has been done, due to the low level of industrialization.
He stated that Africa is the continent that produces and emits the least greenhouse gases, but it is also the one that can make the greatest contribution to combating climate change, if the production and transport of energy from clean sources increases.
The president highlighted the enormous water and solar potential, which can be harnessed through the construction of more hydroelectric dams and photovoltaic parks.
João Lourenço added that the continent will continue to face land desertification caused by human action, the result of deforestation, the indiscriminate slaughter of plant species for the illegal timber trade and forest fires justified by traditional practices.
He also stressed that a large investment is needed to replace charcoal and salt with cooking gas in most African homes, thus reducing the destruction of forests, despite financial and cultural difficulties.
He considered, however, that this change is possible in the medium and long term.
On the other hand, he stated that the European Union is currently facing a major security challenge due to the war in Ukraine, which has lasted almost four years, with a high number of deaths, injuries, displaced people and refugees spread across Europe, in addition to the destruction of essential infrastructure and the occupation and annexation of part of Ukrainian territory.
He also mentioned that the African Union is facing successive unconstitutional changes of power in some West African countries and, recently, in a SADC country.
João Lourenço also mentioned the presence of terrorism in the Sahel, Somalia, Sudan and Mozambique, as well as the war in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, warning of the risk of fragmentation if adequate measures are not taken to guarantee the end of conflicts and lasting peace.
The President stated that, taking into account that the Middle East is practically halfway between Africa and Europe, it is impossible to ignore the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, especially the situation in the Gaza Strip, which threatens the peace and security of the entire region.
Therefore, he applauded the efforts made by President Donald Trump and some allied countries, which brought hope for the end of the conflict and for the possibility of creating the State of Palestine, as determined by the United Nations in Security Council resolutions.
“This serious deterioration in security in Europe, Africa and the Middle East results from disrespect for the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and in International Law, which regulate relations between States”, he highlighted.
According to João Lourenço, violation of the principles of non-aggression, respect for the independence and sovereignty of States and the need to resolve conflicts peacefully, through dialogue, as well as interference in internal affairs, put world peace and security at risk.
He emphasized that the situation worsens when some great powers, permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, ignore and deauthorize the body itself, adopting unilateral measures based on force, and not on universally recognized principles.
The President of the Republic considered it urgent to rescue multilateralism for the good of all humanity.
Source: ANGOP
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