In this Blog by the Hon. Jacqueline Amongin from Uganda, who serves as Chairperson of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) Forum for Climate Change, we are pleased to profile the latest example of climate leadership by EALA. This regional parliament was first highlighted as a climate and DRR champion in GLOBE’s report on the Sendai Framework and the Paris Agreement, following their adoption in 2015.
31 July 2024
Climate change is one of the foremost challenges faced in East Africa. Made up of countries that are highly dependant on agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU), addressing climate change in the region is akin to navigating through survival paths. Indeed, a report on climate change and conflicts in Africa by the U.S Congress’ Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, led by Senator Edward Markey (also a GLOBE leader) opined that it is predicted that by 2080, East Africa’s temperature will rise by 5.4 to 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit, which will be one and a half times more than the projected average for the rest of the world.
Climate change is therefore, to all intents and purposes, an existential issue in East Africa.
Globally, the critical role of parliaments in addressing issues in the society has since been acknowledged. A study entitled Parliament’s Role In Implementing The Sustainable Development Goals and published in 2019 by ParlAmericas, an institution that promotes parliamentary diplomacy in the inter-American system, affirms that “Legislators are uniquely positioned to act as an interface between the people and state institutions, and to promote and adopt people-centered policies and legislation to ensure that no one is left behind.”
In furtherance of this recognition of the important role played by parliaments especially as it concerns climate action, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2016 recognised parliamentary organisations as an informal group in the UNFCCC process.
It is the acute awareness of this important role of legislators that motivated us at the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) post-COP28, to begin a series of engagements to boost climate action in the region. This renewed vigour, boosted by the existence for the first time, of a Parliamentary Pavilion at COP28 (hosted by GLOBE International), created a fertile ground for peer-to-peer exchange of ideas and motivation, and has birthed a number of key initiatives.
For instance, on 29 June, 2024, the East African Legislative Assembly’s Parliamentary Forum under my leadership in collaboration with the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) convened a parliamentary dialogue on the role of regional legislatures in driving climate action. The event which took place at the East Africa Community (EAC) Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania, had in attendance EALA Members of Parliament led by the Speaker, Honourable Joseph Ntakirutimana; the Deputy Secretary General of EAC, Honourable Aguer Ariik, who represented the Secretary General; the Executive Director of PACJA, Dr. Mithika Mwenda; among others.
The forum accorded us the opportunity to review some of the efforts being made to address the issue of climate change especially as they intersect with development and growth of the region.
For instance, during his presentation, the Speaker highlighted the key move by the EAC council of Ministers to mainstream climate considerations into the 2024/2025 budget with the following initiatives considered: EAC Blue Economy Strategy and Action Plan; Review of the EAC Regional Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan; and the review of the EAC Climate Change Policy Strategy.
There were also calls for the scaling up of legislative action to drive climate action through improved oversight, legislation, and consultations. Part of the ways we agreed to do this. is to work towards the enactment of a regional Climate Change Act which will serve as the legal framework guiding climate action within the region. We also agreed to constant capacity building for MPs to ensure effective delivery of their mandate to the people.
Indeed, this important forum allowed stakeholders to interact with MPs to foreground the daunting impacts of climate change on the region which ranges from insecurity, loss of livelihood, droughts, heatwaves, cyclones, and floods. All of these point to the need for urgent action which should be spearheaded by MPs.
Having outlined the important steps to be taken by MPs, we rounded off the event with a symbolic tree-planting exercise behind the EALA chambers.
In the succeeding months, EALA intends to continue to lead regional actions on climate change. In furtherance of this, between 24-26 July, 2024, we partnered with AGNES for a three-day Eastern Africa Parliamentary Meeting with focus on bolstering the capacity of MPs for climate action. There will be others like this going forward as we continue to strengthen parliamentary action on climate change.
Hon. Jacqueline Amongin
Chairperson
East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) Forum for Climate Change.
