Glasgow: The President of the Republic calls for building more flexible and inclusive environmental development paths.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Heads of State and Government, Honorable President of the Twenty-sixth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Honorable Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ladies and gentlemen, representatives of governmental and non-governmental organizations, ladies and gentlemen, Global warming is causing catastrophic and multifaceted consequences, which today constitute a major challenge that all of humanity must face. The 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change gives us the opportunity to pay tribute to the international giveaway in favor of climate action and to reaffirm the need to place environmental transformation at the top of the strategic priorities of the 2030 Agenda and all public policies for a post-Covid take-off.

It is imperative that our nations, individually and collectively, implement all measures required to build greener, lower carbon, more resilient and inclusive environmental development pathways. Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, Mauritania has just revised its national climate contribution, and although greenhouse gas emissions are very marginal, we plan to reduce them by 11% compared to 2018 by 2030. With more external financial support, we can achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. Our efforts during the period 2015-2021 enabled us to increase the share of renewable energies in the energy mix from 18% in 2015 to 34% in 2020, and we plan to reach a rate of 50% in 2030.

These results will be complemented by the launch of a new green hydrogen development program. Thanks to this new sector, Mauritania will offer the world an alternative and sustainable source of clean energy and we invite financial institutions and interested companies to support us in this project. In addition, our national climate contribution also supports the environmental transition of other sectors with reducing potential such as transportation, agriculture, livestock and forestry. However, adapting to climate change and building the resilience of vulnerable populations is a priority for us, in this context some progress has already been made with regard to building terrestrial ecosystems, notably through the implementation of the Great Green Wall program. Last January, at the One Planet Summit, major pledges of funding were made to support the Great Green Wall. Millions of Africans who suffer from low means of living are now awaiting fulfillment of these promises. Here we call on COP 26 to make the Great Green Wall program an international priority and, in general, request that funds directed to environmental adaptation and transformation be significantly increased and paid mostly in the form of voluntary contributions, so as not to increase the debt burden of developing countries.

Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, Convinced that climate action has become a social, environmental, economic and even security priority, Mauritania will remain fully committed to strengthening international cooperation in the field of climate and accelerating environmental transformation, which is more necessary now than ever.

Thank you.