BY PHUMELELE MKHONTA
MBABANE – The world got to experience the strong relationship between Eswatini and the Republic of China (Taiwan) at the side-lines of #COP27.
The past Saturday saw Eswatini and Taiwan attending a United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) #COP27 side event at Sharm el-Sheik in Egypt.
The side event was discussing the ‘Building an Enhanced Resilient and Sustainable Society by Net-Zero Transformation and Collaboration’.
According to Dr Deepa Pullanikkatil, an Eswatini-based environmentalist who is in attendance at #COP27, the event aimed to explore decarbonisation solutions to integrate net-zero and resilience in a collaborative approach for developing countries.
“The discussion of demand-driven technological strategies in mitigation and adaptation will contribute to climate-resilient and low-carbon development,” she said.
Pullanikkatil further said Minister of Tourism and Environmental Affairs Moses Vilakati was present and he made opening remarks at the event.
“Director of Dept. of Meteorology made a presentation on Eswatini’s NDC: aspirations towards resilience and net-zero and Khetsiwe Khumalo, the Climate Change Coordinator participated in a panel with Taiwanese and Indian delegates were discussing environment topics,” said Pullanikkatil.
Last Friday, we reported that barely three days after the country was recognised for its NDC Investment Award at #COP27, an Eswatini-based scientist was made one of the four panellists in a discussion at the IRENA Pavilion at the climate change conference.
NDC stands for Nationally Determined Contribution.
This happened last Friday at during the on-going United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – #COP27.
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) supports countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future.
Representing the country was Dr Deepa Pullanikkatil, who was one of the panellists conducting the conversations of the day.
Pullanikkatil is currently the Eswatini NDC Coordinator and is one of the delegates who travelled with His Excellency Prime Minister Cleopas Dlamini to #COP2 in Egypt.
In a brief WhatsApp conversation with this reporter, Pullanikkatil confirmed that she was one of the panellists at the IRENA Pavilion, however, referring the reporter to her an article on her LinkedIn page that she wrote on her experience.
Her comment on her experience in her page was titled ‘IRENA Side Event’.
“On day four (10 November, 2022), I participated in a panel discussion on ‘Climate Plans for Energy Resilience in Africa and Small Island States’, which was facilitated by Simon Benmarazze from IRENA. The opening remarks were given by Gauri Singh who is the Deputy Director General of IRENA. The other speakers were from Jeff Bezos Earth Fund, EnAccess Foundation and Alliance for Rural Electrification.
“The panel discussed on ways to boost energy transition and improve the resilience of energy systems in developing countries. I shared experiences from Eswatini, where extreme weather events particularly cyclones had damaged energy infrastructure including transmission lines being uprooted and electricity being disrupted as a result,” detailed Pullanikkatil.
