Paris declaration on climate change leaves parliamentary reflections in controversy

 By Rachel NtubeNgwese in Yaounde

Jules Doret Ndongo

Both houses of parliament, the national assembly and the senate have been engaged in a serious tussle  in examining the bill to authorize the president of the republic  to ratify the Paris agreement on climate change adopted on 12 December 2015 and signed on 22 April 2016 in New York. At the national assembly two committees (the committee on production and trade, and the foreign affairs committee) separately examined the bill amidst the presence of heads of related ministerial departments and the minister delegate at the presidency in charge of relations with the national assembly Jules DoretNdongo. Before the foreign affairs committee, the minister of environment, nature protection and sustainable development Hele Pierre explained to the members of the committee the benefits Cameroon stands to reap from the accord. This according to him goes beyond just financial benefits to include sustainable development and the fight against poverty.           The ministers equally explained that the ratification of the bill will prove Cameroons willingness to engage with the rest of the world in the fight against climate change, and attract continues financial assistance for the implementation of the Paris agreement.

        According to the bill under examination, Cameroon has taken the engagement to reduce green house gas emission to 32 percent by 2035, to take climate change resilience measures such as opting for renewable energy sources amongst others.

                This notwithstanding, some MPs still expressed doubts about the applicability of the bill. According to Hon. Wilfred FusiNdamukong  a member of the foreign affairs committee, MPs are ready to adopt the bill but for needed clarifications on some issues in the Paris agreement. He added that if parliament has to adopt the bill then the ministers concern must come back to the committees to make necessary clarifications on pertinent issues. Because of the controversy on the adoption of the bill awaited at the senate last Wednesday, it only made work more difficult for the senators.

       Meanwhile the senators who had prepared for a double preoccupation (the law authorizing the president of the republic to ratify the Paris agreement, and the question and answer session) in plenary could no longer meet up with their agenda as planned.