DILI, 26 october 2022 (TATOLI) – The Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães, will lead a high-level government delegation to participate in the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), to be held from 30 october to 18 november 2022, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
Timor-Leste’s Climate Change Ambassador, Adão Soares Barbosa, said the delegation will leave for Egypt on october 28.
“Minister Magalhaes has been appointed by the President of the Republic, José Ramos Horta, to head Timor-Leste’s delegation to participate in COP27,” Barbosa told reporters after meeting President Horta at the Presidential Palace today.
The Secretary of State for Environment, Demetrio do Amaral de Carvalho is also part of the team to attend COP27.
“Before attending COP27, we organized two national workshops on climate change. We also consulted with our development partners, civil societies, and UN agencies, who had been working on climate change to prepare our team to share Timor-Leste’s position on climate change in Egypt,” said Barbosa.
He explained that humans are responsible for climate change largely due to greenhouse gas emissions.
“Developed and industrialized countries are the ones who contribute far more to increasing the rate of global warming,” he said.
Barbosa emphasized that Timor-Leste would continue to defend the interest of the least developed nations by asking rich nations to compensate poorer nations for the damage caused by rising temperatures.
It is said that developed countries such as Japan, Canada, the US, and Western European countries are responsible for more than 50% of all greenhouse gases that have caused global warming.
Barbosa concluded that Timor-Leste’s C02 emission can be estimated at only 0.003%, adding a developing country like Timor-Leste is much more vulnerable to climate change than developed nations.
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges
