Namibia should promote and support initiatives for the conservation and restoration of forests, oceans, and other biodiversity hotspots. This includes the implementation of sustainable ecosystem management practices, combating deforestation, preserving biodiversity and addressing pollution. This is but one of the recommendations that Namibia’s Standing Committee on Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources made in their report of the 29th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 29) and related meetings to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change Conference. These meetings took place from 11 to 22 November 2024 in Baku Azerbaijan. The committee’s goal was to facilitate discussions and negotiations on actions to combat climate change and ensure the effective implementation of international climate policies. According to the report, Namibia’s stance at COP 29 was that the country is concerned by the underperformance of financial commitments made by developed countries, especially the shortfall in the US$ 100 billion per year target to support developing nations' mitigation and adaptation efforts. It said that Namibia called for a more robust financial mechanism that ensures adequate and predictable funding, with a particular emphasis on increasing grant-based support. The report said that Namibia also insisted that climate change finance should be balanced between mitigation and adaptation, with a focus on long-term, sustainable support for developing countries' Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). “The country emphasised that adaptation must be treated with the same level of priority as mitigation, with climate finance split evenly between the two pillars.” Additionally, Namibia highlighted the need for a comprehensive strategy to address loss and damage caused by climate change, the report said. “With increasing climate-related disasters across the African continent, Namibia advocates for the operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund and calls for new, additional financial resources based on the polluter-pay principle.” Another recommendation made was that parliamentary committees responsible for biodiversity and the environment should address, through their legislative, oversight, and representation functions, the needs of groups disproportionately affected by climate change. These are especially vulnerable groups such as women, children, the elderly, people with disabilities, young people, and minorities, and implement climate goals per the principle of gender equality and equity.
