"Thank you Mr President.
I will start by thanking you, Mr President of the French Republic, for initiating this Paris Conference on climate change.
I also wish to thank the UN Secretary-General for working closely with you for the success of the conference.
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the organizers for the quality of the deliberations and in-depth discussions of the conference.
The speakers who preceded me have said everything, and eloquently indeed, about the adverse effects of climate change in Africa. I will not come back to that.
The first issue was whether Africa was really aware of the gravity of the phenomenon. The speakers who preceded me have shown that Africa is aware and that solutions have even been outlined, namely the Great Green Wall, the energy plan, etc. Moreover, we were visited by Minister Borloo who is proposing a plan to electrify 80% of Africa. Solutions exist, but I think the major problem is financing.
A lot has been done by France, in particular, as well as the World Bank and the African Development Bank. However, our troubles are not yet over. That is why I would like to join the speakers before me to say that there is need to go further in financing Africa.
Of course, climate change has not only greatly altered feeding habits and the lives of people, it has also led to the emergence of violence, particularly around Lake Chad were we are grappling with very violent movements. However, we have not sat idly by and let things happen. We have set up a Multinational Joint Task Force comprising Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Benin which is fighting these terrorists.
Nonetheless, we are optimistic. The global awareness being shown today in Paris is a pointer that the world is determined to meet the challenges. That is why we wish to once more thank President Hollande and the countries helping Africa to continue this onward march for a better life and a better future for mankind.
Thank you"
Paris-Le Bourget, 1 December 2015
