Baku, Azerbaijan – At the COP29 climate summit taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan, Liberia’s EPA Executive Director, Dr. Emmanuel Urey Yarkpawolo has called on the international community to step up financial support to help his country address the severe impacts of climate change.

Speaking with the BBC on Tuesday, November 12, Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo outlined the urgent issues Liberia faces and emphasized the need for funding to implement an ambitious national plan for climate resilience.

Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo explained that climate change has hit Liberia hard, particularly in the form of intense droughts, erratic rainfall, and worsening coastal erosion.

“Our coastal cities—like Monrovia’s West Point, Buchanan, and Greenville—are seeing serious erosion and rising sea levels,” he said, adding that food production across Liberia has also been disrupted.

He said that Liberia, as a least-developed country with significant natural resources, including over 40% of West Africa’s remaining forests, Liberia is especially vulnerable to climate shifts but also has immersed potential to fight climate change.

Dr. Urey Yarkpawolo added that the new administration under President Joseph Nyumah Boakai has developed a five-year plan called the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development, focusing on climate adaptation and resilience, but the country needs $7 Billion to implement it.

“Our government simply doesn’t have the funds,” Dr. Urey Yarkpawolo said, stressing that this is why Liberia is making a strong case for international aid at COP29.

He called on wealthier countries to follow through on their climate commitments by transforming pledges into real actions.

“We are asking that commitments to climate action are not just goals on paper but are backed by resources that lead to real improvements in Liberia and other countries facing similar challenges.”

The EPA chief’s message reflects the voices of many developing nations calling for stronger financial support to cope with climate change.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) commits countries to work together on tackling climate change through reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation efforts, in line with particular principles of action (including developed countries most responsible for causing climate change should bear the most responsibilities for addressing it).

Each year countries meet at the Conference of the Parties (COP) to discuss progress towards achieving the targets in the Paris Agreement, which every country in the world has now signed up to, and articulates clearly how efforts to tackle climate change should be achieved. This is primarily through a system of Nationally Determined Contributions(NDCs) towards the global temperature goal of “well below” 2 Degree Celsius and to “pursue efforts” towards limiting global warming to 1.5C .

This year event will run from 11th to 22nd November 2024

As it has always been, world leaders gather at COP to discuss progress towards achieving the targets in the Paris Agreement.

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