infestation, increase incidence of health issues such as the Ebola epidemic.

Finance boss seeks legally binding agreement

The Head of the Liberian delegation attending the Paris Climate Change Conference/COP21, Finance and Development Planning Minister Amara Konneh, says Liberia wants a new legally binding agreement out of Paris that will be endorsed by all parties.

A dispatch quoting Finance and Development Planning Minister Amara Konneh as saying a new global agreement will assure the people of the world that Liberians were serious in ensuring sustainable development activities, adding that adaptation was key for developing countries, including Liberia.

Minister Konneh emphasized the need for the implementation of the National Adaptation Process to address medium and long term adaptation activities.

The dispatch from Paris also quoted Minister Konneh as saying Liberia recognizes the severity of the impacts of global warming, stressing what will happen to the seven billion people of the world if delegates left the conference without a deal. “All parties must take significant steps forward in the fight against climate change and remain focused on what was agreed to in Durban,” said Minister Konneh who spoke at the High Level Segment of the
Climate Change Conference. According to him, it was an open secret that Climate change has been recognized as the most current issue affecting human development,

noting that its impacts are causing loss of lives, food insecurity, destruction of infrastructures and ecosystem. Minister Konneh noted that many Least Developed Countries, like
Liberia, continue to experience severe consequences of climate change such as the perennial flooding in our urban and peri-urban communities, coastal erosion, pest “In short, climate change continues to impact Liberia’s Socio-economic development. In response to Liberia’s vulnerability to climate change, the country is presently executing three major adaptation projects, namely Coastal Defense, Climate Agriculture and Early Warning System Projects,” the dispatch quoted the minister as saying..

He said to further enhance Government’s intervention, Liberia has completed and submitted its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions, and that Liberia’s INDC provides the way forward for the government in addressing climate change in the areas of mitigation and adaptation.

Liberia’s INDC, he added, demonstrates the government’s intent to address the impacts of climate change, but will require adequate and predictable finance for implementation.

He further indicated that capacity-building has been identified as a major issue that needed to be considered in the new agreement, stressing that with this, Liberia was calling for the establishment of a Capacity-building Mechanism, affirming the country’s commitment to decision 23/CP.18 and other COP decisions on gender.

He called for further action to speed up the implementation of Lima Work Program on Gender, noting that adaptation and mitigation efforts under the new agreement should be consistent with human rights taking into account gender equality, equal access to decision making and benefit sharing. Issues around capacity, technology development and transfer, and finance should also include a gender- sensitive /gender – responsive climate approaches.

He said by extending Liberia’s profound thanks and appreciation to parties that have contributed to the replenishment of the Least Developed Countries Fund and urged other parties that are in the position to also make their contributions.

Minister Konneh was accompanied to the meeting by Transport Minister Angela Cassell-Bush, the Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency AnyaaVohiri, Deputy Gender Minister SieaneLaurine Abdul-Baki, Liberia’s Ambassador to France, C. William Allen,

Assistant Foreign Minister for European Affairs Israel Choko Davies, as well as Assistant Finance Minister for Budget Augustine K. Blama, among others. Dispatch