Prep for COP26 – UK Regional Ambassador Wants Gambia in

As part of the British government’s endeavor to generate momentum on the coming 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), the UK regional ambassador for COP26 in West Africa has visited The Gambia.  Janet Rogan on Thursday exchanged with the Gambian media about the COP26 to be held at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) in Glasgow from 1^st to 12th November 2021.

According to Janet Rogan, the UK conference will deepen the discussions on climate change and global warming issues currently affecting every human being’s life.  The COP26 summit will also bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Ambassador Rogan said she hopes discussions on climate change would yield new actions to bring down global warming. In addition, Ambassador Janet Rogan believes that The Gambia, a country that is not spared by climate change and Global warming, would have a lot to gain and inspire for the good of the Gambian population.

“Many cities in the Gambia are below sea level,” said Janet Rogan. “This makes the Gambians to be at risk of being easily flooded. There is also a problem of saltwater entering places where rice is grown, and rice does not grow well in salty water.  We can also see that there is soil erosion, and all that means that we will end up with a small scale of productivity in agriculture.  All these problems are related to climate,” said Janet Rogan as she emphasized that these are few among many reasons why the world should ensure that global warming is controlled.

Ambassador Rogan further explained that each country has a role to play in combating climate change and global warming. “Being the regional ambassador, I can’t sit in the UK and solve these problems, which is why I came all the way to the Gambia,” she said.

Janet Rogan had series of meetings with the vice-president of the Republic of the Gambia, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture, and representatives from the Private sector. She assured that the UK is committed to working with all countries and joining forces with civil society, companies, and people on the frontline of climate change to inspire climate action ahead of COP26.