Rwanda will next month host a UN summit that will study how to phase out substances such as green house gases that deplete the ozone layer. What will be at stake will be the Montreal Protocol to cap the rise of global temperature to 0.5 degrees by the end of the century. That will be a tall order since substances that erode the ozone layer to increase and the main culprits are the industrialized countries. They have failed to satiate their hunger for more production and sacrificed the world future on the table of profit. Rwanda has been trying its bit with strict environmental laws that are enforced strictly. It did therefore not come as a surprise when the Minister of Natural Resources unveiled the country’ plans to prioritise green and climate resilient secondary cities. Statistics show that 70 percent of greenhouse gases are produced by cities, and as long as they are left to their own devices, the situation will worsen and there will be little to save. So the choice for the UN climate summit venue is not lost to imagination. It is a certification that this country is on the right track as far as environmental protection is concerned. We should not let down our guard but invest more efforts in helping make the climate resilient dream a reality.
