PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
UN: Madagascar stresses need for meaningful agreement at UN climate talks
New York, US (PANA) - President Hery Martial Rajaonarimampianina Rakotoarimanana of Madagascar on Friday said the UN now has a "rendezvous with history" to ensure that the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) would set the world on the path to sustainability and that a vital first step on the path would be to secure a concrete agreement at the Paris climate conference in December.
In his address at the UN General Assembly in New York, Rakotoarimanana said that it was important to recognize that developing countries are not the main parties responsible for climate change, although they paid a heavy price.
He noted that, "Madagascar is systematically suffering from the consequences of climate change, which often destroyed efforts towards social and economic progress."
Ahead of the Paris conference, he said the government had announced its commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 14 per cent and to increase its absorption capacity by more than 30 per cent by 2030.
"A new era is opening before the world, a new hope is being built with the advent of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)," he said, stressing that the SDGs should not just be a reference point to fight against poverty, but should aim for larger-scale sustainable human development.
The Madagascar leader also said that human capital, both the actor and the beneficiary of the SDGs, must be at the heart of all the world’s actions, saying: "The security of peoples in all its forms from wars, crises and insecurity is the root cause of the systematic violations of human rights, and peace and security remained the Achilles heel of all development strategies.
"Because of that, Madagascar is perusing its own path towards democracy and sustainability to ensure growth and development of its people and resources," he concluded.
-0- PANA AA/VAO 2Oct2015
In his address at the UN General Assembly in New York, Rakotoarimanana said that it was important to recognize that developing countries are not the main parties responsible for climate change, although they paid a heavy price.
He noted that, "Madagascar is systematically suffering from the consequences of climate change, which often destroyed efforts towards social and economic progress."
Ahead of the Paris conference, he said the government had announced its commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 14 per cent and to increase its absorption capacity by more than 30 per cent by 2030.
"A new era is opening before the world, a new hope is being built with the advent of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)," he said, stressing that the SDGs should not just be a reference point to fight against poverty, but should aim for larger-scale sustainable human development.
The Madagascar leader also said that human capital, both the actor and the beneficiary of the SDGs, must be at the heart of all the world’s actions, saying: "The security of peoples in all its forms from wars, crises and insecurity is the root cause of the systematic violations of human rights, and peace and security remained the Achilles heel of all development strategies.
"Because of that, Madagascar is perusing its own path towards democracy and sustainability to ensure growth and development of its people and resources," he concluded.
-0- PANA AA/VAO 2Oct2015
