Political parties in the country have been urged to advocate for climate change mitigation by supporting related legal and institutional frameworks. Speaking during a consultative meeting organised by the Consultative Forum of Political Organizations in Rwanda, to discuss climate change and national sustainable development, the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Stanislas Kamanzi, urged the parties to take part in advocating for the minimization of the impact of climate change. “Political parties should play a bigger role in sensitizing the masses on how they can reduce the impact of climate change,” Kamanzi said. “These must include the adoption of proper farming methods that are less dependent on weather patterns, by promoting irrigation schemes coupled with agricultural land use intensification.” Kamanzi added that the emphasis on the importance of action on climate change should be taken as the number one priority. “Developing new and renewable energy sources and promotion of green production technologies as well as reducing megawatts to zero is our main focus,” he noted. The Secretary General of the Forum, Anicet Kayigema, noted that the emphasis on the mitigation of the impact of the climate change is vital because, climate change has become a leading contributor to the ‘severe droughts, floods and indeed the extreme weather conditions.’ Protais Mitali, the chairman of Liberal Party (PL) who is also the Minister of Youth, commended the idea saying that more efforts should be put in advocating for the reduction of the climate change effects. Francois Ngarambe, the Secretary General of Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF) said that Rwandans should use all means to mitigate the impact of climate change, also being exemplary to other countries. “The use of good means to reduce the effects of climate change will influence other countries to follow suit,” Ngarambe said. “For example, Rwanda banned the use of polythene bags and now other countries like Uganda have done likewise.” Ends
