Pan-African Parliament (PaP) President Chief Fortune Charumbira has called for urgent and serious climate change mitigation in what could be seen as a veiled swipe at US President Donald Trump.
Charumbira was speaking in Cape Town on Wednesday at the official opening of the G20 parliamentary speakers’ summit.
His comment come just days after Trump, last week while addressing the UN General Assembly (UNGA), said climate change was a hoax that his country was not going to entertain no more.
Trump, in his usual unprovoked outbursts, said climate change was bogus from the start. He claimed that it was first called global cooling, then global warming. Before being called climate change, because it does not exist.
Urgent action needed
Charumbira sees things differently. And believes that urgent action is needed. This is including the formulation of appropriate legislation to mitigate against the global crisis.
“Climate change is not merely an environmental issue. It is a governance challenge and a question of justice. Africa contributes only a small fraction of global greenhouse gases. Yet it is among those bearing the greatest burdens. Drought, flooding, desertification, biodiversity loss, and food insecurity,” said Charumbira.
“In this context, parliaments are uniquely positioned to craft and enact national laws, regulations and frameworks that mandate emissions reductions, renewable energy deployment, energy efficiency, and sustainable land‑use policies.
“We must also serve as conduits for citizens’ concerns. Especially vulnerable and marginalised communities, ensuring that climate policies are equitable, just, and inclusive.
“These roles are not optional: they are essential if we are to transform commitments into results. This calls upon us to foster peer learning and exchange across parliaments. Especially across the P20 platform, to share best practices in climate legislation, oversight, and financing.”
World in serious danger
Charumbira also warned that without decisive legislative action, the world as we know it was in serious danger.
“Climate change demands bold legislative leadership. The climate crisis is neither an abstraction nor a distant threat. It is unfolding in our present reality. In our droughts, floods, migration, food insecurity, and fragile ecosystems,” he said.
“We must, therefore, be architects of climate justice. We must demand transparency, fairness, and accountability. And we must stand with our citizens and ensure that the transition to a net-zero world leaves no one behind.
“The P20 must serve as a catalyst to network, innovate, and elevate parliamentary climate action globally. Let our statutes, budgets, oversight, and governance deliver on the promise of climate resilience. Also sustainable development, and a better future for all.”
The P20, as the G20 parliamentary speakers’ summit is colloquially known, is a precursor of the G20 Summit. It is taking place in South Africa this year, next month.
Climate change denialist Trump will not be attending. Owing to damaged diplomatic relations between Washington and Pretoria.
