Regional meeting in Lomé for access to climate finance: a strong commitment from ECOWAS

The Togolese capital, Lomé, hosted a key regional meeting on Tuesday, March 12. The meeting, hosted by the Ministry of Environment and Forest Resources and inaugurated by Minister Foli-Bazi Katari, brought together representatives of institutions, experts, and key stakeholders to discuss access to climate finance in the region.

For two days, participants addressed the crucial issue of strengthening the institutional capacity of member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to access climate finance. The main objective was to define effective strategies for mobilizing financing for the agricultural sectors of the various countries in the region.

ECOWAS, aware of the major challenges posed by climate change in the region, considers climate financing a priority on its agenda. Among the challenges encountered are the increasing unavailability of water for agriculture and livestock farming, as well as rising temperatures, which directly impact agricultural activities.

The Minister of Environment and Forest Resources highlighted Togo's sustained commitment to this fight since 1995, the year the first international texts were ratified. He also highlighted the country's efforts, including the implementation in 2022 of a strategy aimed at strengthening its commitment to combating climate change.

This regional meeting in Lomé demonstrates the willingness of the countries of the region to collaborate closely to address the challenges of climate change. By mobilizing adequate financial resources and strengthening institutional capacities, ECOWAS hopes to be able to implement concrete actions to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change on the agricultural sectors and, by extension, on the populations of the region.

The Emissary