Chad faces devastating consequences of climate change, country's president says

At the COP29 climate summit, a message was read on behalf of Chad's President Mohammed Idriss Deby Itno. The head of state, who couldn't attend the summit due to natural disasters, expressed gratitude to the organizers and participants for their support.

According to Report, the president's message was read by a government representative of the country at the high-level meeting during COP29.

"2024 will remain in our collective memory as a year of unprecedented disasters. Flood waves devastated 119 of our 125 departments, affecting more than 1.9 million citizens. More than 217,000 destroyed homes, 432 hectares of destroyed agricultural land, and 72,000 dead livestock. We lost 576 human lives," the message stated.

"Chad is at the crossroads of many regional crises. The crisis in Sudan, instability in Libya, and the Boko Haram threat at Lake Chad exacerbate our climate vulnerability. This emphasizes the importance of the connection between climate security and development," the president's statement said, calling for the creation of a special financing mechanism for countries facing conflicts.

Chad has also been actively working on its contribution to fighting climate change, developing an ambitious action plan since 2017 and revising it in 2021. However, according to the country's representative, financing needs remain unsatisfactory. "We are confident that the COP29 summit, focused on climate financing, is a crucial moment for rebuilding international financial architecture," he concluded.

A separate appeal was made to the international community to pay attention to Lake Chad's problem, whose basin is home to more than 30 million people and is threatened with disappearance. "We would like this conference to be a decisive step, not just another meeting," he noted.

"Let me thank the government and people of the Republic of Azerbaijan for all the hospitality we enjoyed in Baku. We also welcome the fact that in organizing COP29, President Ilham Aliyev continues to fulfill a crucial commitment to ensuring a sustainable and prosperous future," the Chad representative noted, emphasizing the importance of the Azerbaijani president's efforts.