The Government of Timor-Leste, through the Secretariat of State for the Environment and the Climate Change Working Group, with the support of development partners, organized, on March 29th and 30th, the 4th National Climate Change Conference.
The conference was held in the auditorium of the Ministry of Finance, in Dili, under the theme “Reducing the impact of climate change to protect our ecosystem, health and food security”.
During the two days of the conference, it was intended to create a space for discussion on the actions and mechanisms for mitigating the effects associated with climate change.
Representing the Prime Minister, the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Joaquim Amaral, at the event’s opening, stated that “Timor-Leste must strengthen its resilience and prevent the effects of climate change”.
Joaquim Amaral guaranteed that the Government is cooperating with civil society and national and international partners to prevent global warming.
The Secretary of State for the Environment, Demétrio do Amaral de Carvalho, stated that “to address climate change we have to do it collectively”, stressing the relevance of all citizens and development partners’ contributions.
The Government has approved, last December, the National Climate Change Policy, which has established a clear statement of the political principles that determine the mechanisms in the light of which the laws to be adopted to respond to the emerging climate change situations will be read and interpreted. The adoption of this policy makes it possible to strengthen the coordinated articulation between ministries and avoid the duplication of measures and the implementation of outdated policies and establish the basic structure on which future climate change policies (sectoral and transversal) will be identified and prioritized.
Over the two days of the Conference, the Ministry of Health together with the World Health Organization also provided free medical screening and advice.