Tanzania said on Wednesday it was disappointed by the decision of President Donald Trump to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accord.
“We are disappointed by the decision because the U.S. is one of the biggest emitters of pollution in the world,’’ said January Makamba, the East African nation’s Minister of State in the Vice-President’s Office responsible for environment.
Trump ran into a lot of flak last week after he announced the withdrawal of the United States from the landmark global agreement to fight climate change.
Trump said the Paris accord would undermine the U.S. economy, cost jobs and put the country at a permanent disadvantage to the other countries.
Makamba said the U.S. decision to withdraw from the Paris accord was ill-advised and would neither save the world nor the United States.
“The core industries that Trump is trying to protect are on the decline anyway and green economy is now much larger and is employing more people,’’ said Makamba.
He said Tanzania would continue to work with other countries across the world that had signed the Paris accord toward implementation of the deal.
Benson Bana, a senior lecturer on Public Administration and Human Resource at the University of Dar es Salaam, said Trump’s withdraw from the Paris Agreement was a blow to Africa.
“Africa will suffer significantly. Africa cannot single-handedly fund climate change mitigation initiatives,” said Bana.
Bana said the consequences of U.S. withdrawal from the Paris deal were critical as the country was a major financier of climate change mitigation initiatives.
Deodatus Mfugale, an environmental journalist, said the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris accord meant that the pledge to cut its emissions by 26 to 28 per cent would also not be met.
“This leaves developing countries like Tanzania with the opportunity to step up its emission cuts, however, small using its own resources.
“Tanzania must step up enforcement rules and laws and regulations,’’ said Mfugale, adding that the country should also make national budget allocations for climate change adaptation and mitigation in a bid to rely less on developed countries. (Xinhua/NAN)
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