The revelations were made by the Minister of Environment, Dr. Vincent Biruta on Monday as he inaugurated the 4th High-level policy dialogue for Africa Green Growth Forum 2018 slated to start on Tuesday, 27th to 30th November this year in the Green Growth with a theme that goes as “For a Green and Climate Resilient Rwanda.”
The forum organized by the Ministry of Environment with the United Nations Development Programme attracts about 1000 participants including politicians, business people, economists from Africa along with visitors who have come from all corners of the globe.
Minister Biruta said, “Rwanda’s Green Growth and Climate Resilience Strategy was created in 2011 and remain a ground-breaking piece of policymaking.”
Biruta said that to implement the strategy, the Government has introduced the Green Fund (FONERWA) “to be the vehicle through which resources for climate and environmental change initiatives are mobilized and invested. The fund has seen a positive return on these investments.’’
“It has created more than 140,000 green jobs, protected tens of thousands of hectares of land against the impact of climate change, and with the support of our development partners, mobilized more than 150 million dollars for strategic green growth,” Minister Biruta explained.
“This has led to the development of Green Villages across the country, which some of you will visit on Friday, a Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production programme which is supporting the private sector to save money and the environment, and the greening of local government development plans,” he added.
The UN Rwanda Resident Coordinator, Fodé Ndiaye commended for the step made in promoting the green economy that ensures businesses don’t destroy the environment.
“I would like to praise the outstanding initiative the Ministry is spearheading to coordinate the implementation of the Green Growth and Climate Resilience Strategy and to integrate green growth into policymaking and planning, as well as institutional development,” Mr. Ndiaye said.
Rwanda is a member of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (CCAC) that aims to catalyze rapid reductions in short-lived climate pollutants to protect human health, agriculture and the environment.
After the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 21, that was in Paris in 2015, Rwanda committed to enhancing green growth projects. Rwanda signed the Paris Agreement on Climate Change in April 2016.
Rwanda has a demonstrated track record of environmental protection, evidenced through the ban on plastic bags, conservation of its natural heritage through a series of national parks and protected areas, landscape restoration and the planting millions of trees every year.
In terms of green growth, the Paris agreement signing by Rwanda in 2016 found, 6,807 households having had improved access to off-grid energy thanks to investments made by FONERWA and private sector partners.
Leave a Reply