Zambia to host global climate meeting

Zambia will host a board meeting of the Worldwide Green Climate Fund (GCF), a financial mechanism of the United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Zambia Daily Mail reported on Friday.

Secretary to the Treasury Fredson Yamba said the government was happy that the country has been given an opportunity to be the first African nation to host the event, saying it was in recognition of the country's positive image in the international community.

"I am pleased to announce that Zambia has been awarded the opportunity to become the first African country to host the board meeting of the Worldwide Green Climate Fund," he was quoted as saying by the paper.

Zambia, he said, was expected to share its experience and raise awareness to the world about the impacts of climate change in the country's regions considered as most vulnerable to climate change.

The official said apart from preparing for the meeting, Zambia was also taking active steps to become one of the first beneficiaries of the Green Climate Fund.

During the meeting, the GCF board would approve some financing request proposals just in time for the 21st Conference of Parties (COP 21) to the UNFCCC scheduled for France towards the end of this year.

The GCF, he said, was an important avenue for the country to scale up existing initiatives aimed at mitigating the impact of climate change.

The meeting, to be held in November, will be attended by over 300 delegates in southern Zambia's Livingstone city.

The delegates would comprise GCF board members, observers from civil society, the private sector, and various international organizations.

The GCF aims to make an ambitious contribution to attaining the mitigation and adaptation goals of the international community in view of climate change. Overtime, it is expected to become the main multilateral financing mechanism to support climate action in developing countries.