FAO supports Parliamentary Committee to finalize amendments ahead of the second reading of the Bill in parliament
Like many parts of the world, Uganda is experiencing the effects of climate change, in form of long dry spells, short periods of rain, an increase in threats of destructive pests like Desert Locusts and unpredictable weather. To address the climate change adversities, Uganda is a signatory to various international protocols such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change which seeks to strengthen the global response to climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century below 2 degrees Celsius. These frameworks require state parties to reach certain targets- most of which are voluntary in nature- and therefore, it is critical for countries to formulate enabling laws to support the implementation of such international frameworks. It is against this background that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the European Union through the Global Climate Change Alliance Plus (GCCA+) project, are supporting policymakers in Uganda to develop the Climate Change law.
The Members of the Climate Change Standing Committee convened in Entebbe to finalise the proposals in the draft National Climate Change Bill, ahead of its second reading and debate in Parliament.
The absence of a legal framework to manage climate change interventions an obstacle in translating the identified policy priorities into implementable actions with tangible climate change benefits. The climate change Bill will strengthen the legal and regulatory framework for climate change response in Uganda.
The proposed National Climate Change law, therefore, seeks to give the force of law in Uganda to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement; to provide for climate change response measures; participation in climate change mechanisms; to provide for measuring of emissions, reporting and verification of information; to provide for institutional arrangements for coordinating and implementing climate change response measures; to provide for financing for climate change; and other related matters.
During the retreat organised by FAO, the Climate Change Bill was studied clause by clause to create a law that addresses climate change issues affecting the Ugandans, across the spectrum. The Bill was endorsed by Cabinet in 2020, and now with the finalization of all amendments, will be tabled in parliament for debate. Honourable Lawrence Biyika Songa, the Chairperson of the Parliament Committee on Climate Change said that Uganda’s efforts to address climate change remain scattered and there’s a need for good institutional agreements to drive the Country’s efforts to address the challenges related to climate change.
“We want to bring all these scattered efforts together. The Ministry of Water and Environment is doing some activities on irrigation, Ministries of Works and Energy Development are involved in tree planting activities, Ministry of Agriculture is implementing activities on irrigation and Climate Smart Agriculture – but all these efforts are scattered. We need to combine these resources and efforts in one organised structure, to have meaningful work on the ground as we work to address some of these challenges.” he said.
Hon Songa also said that the Standing Committee on Climate Change has worked with all sectors of the economy, as well as Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and the Private Sector to ensure the law is all-encompassing and will have a meaningful impact.
“We want to thank FAO for the continued support through this process but also for supporting the Members of Parliament forum on Climate Change to participate in the COOP negotiations every year, in Marrakech, Poland, Madrid, etc. We hope that this year will not be different,” He noted.
The Acting Commissioner for Climate Change in the Ministry of Water and Environment, Mr Bob Natif, thanked the Members of the Committee for ensuring that all the required clauses were included, reviewed and endorsed.
“This process has been consultative, with voices of the sectors and people affected by climate change. As a Department of Climate Change, we are very confident that the law we have proposed is a good one”, he said.
The FAO Country Representative in Uganda, Mr Antonio Querido said that the Climate Change Law is critical to ensuring that short-term interests over long-term gains are no longer acceptable options, as it will ensure accountability, sustained institutional capacity and coordination, as well as insulating efforts of the government to address climate change from potential policy reversals.
He pledged FAO’s continued support to build on the ongoing efforts on climate action, using its technical capacity and strong global network, to assist Uganda to develop and implement country-led programmes in scaling up climate-resilient agriculture, building on sustainable land and water management practices and increasing carbon sequestration in forests and rangelands.
"Induced climate change in the coming century has the potential to halt and reverse the country’s development trajectory, specifically, the likelihood to increase food insecurity; shifts in the spread of diseases, flood damage to infrastructure and shifts in the productivity of agricultural and natural resources. The importance of what you have done for the country, to have this Bill finally reviewed and concluded cannot be overemphasized.” Antonio noted.
Projections indicate that average surface temperatures in Uganda could rise to 2.5 degrees Celsius by 2050 and by up to 4.3 degrees Celsius by 2080. Such rates are unprecedented and should be stopped.
It is envisaged that this Bill will provide for a coordinated approach to deal with climate change responses. This will require a framework and action plan that will guide budgeting, planning, financing and monitoring climate change programs at the National and Sub-national level.
The Bill will also guide the measuring of emissions, reporting and verification of information which are essential components of any climate change strategy. It becoming increasingly necessary to have reliable and verified data on emissions to develop context-specific interventions. This data will be available through the Green House Gas inventory. The Bill will also ensure that Uganda adheres and complies with the UNFCCC reporting mechanism by producing the National Communication (NC) or any such reports as required to give the country status on climate change. NCs provide information on greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories, measures to mitigate and facilitate adequate adaptation to climate change.
The Bill also streamlines the institutional arrangements in terms of reporting, the role of the Policy Committee on Environment, roles of the Lead Agencies of Government in key climate-sensitive sectors, and the Local Governments. It also clearly outlines the mandate of the Climate Change Department in its function of coordinating, monitoring and evaluating the programmes and actions of the Government on climate change.