President Kagame on Tuesday in New York addressed the UNGA Summit on Climate Change and called for shared responsibility and a new inclusive mitigation and adaptation strategy that addresses the concerns of both the industrialized and developing countries, and contributes effectively to the global struggle to protect the planet.
President Kagame proposed a country by country downward trajectory for all countries above around two tones carbon dioxide per person per year, and a constant trading trajectory for all those below, which would provide adequate funds for developing countries to manage the challenges of climate change as they would have a financial incentive to maintain that status by trading with industrialized countries that exceeded their quotas.
President Kagame said that this re-worked strategy would guarantee the cap and trade process, lead to lowering of emissions through incentives for all, and added emphasized it would not constitute development aid but rather was “…a comprehensive plan for global trade – and for rendering the imperative of saving our planet a truly global responsibility”.
President Kagame called on African countries to come out of the margins of the debate on climate change and the search for solutions, and fully engage in ongoing discussions to save the planet and in adopting green technologies.
President Kagame expressed optimism for the future pointing out that, “We have made poor decisions in the past, but I believe we have immeasurable capacity to learn from our errors, and to improve and edify the human condition.”