By Chisomo Phiri
Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change, Dr. Yusuf Mkungula, has called on Malawi’s delegation to the upcoming Thirtieth Conference of the Parties (COP30) scheduled for November 10 to 21 November, 2025 in Belém, Brazil,to be well-prepared and present a unified voice.
Mkungula made the appeal in Lilongwe on Thursday during the second National Stakeholders Preparatory Meeting.
He stressed that COP30 offers a unique opportunity to build on the achievements of COP29, particularly the outcomes of the Global Stocktake, which highlighted the urgent need for more ambitious national targets.
Mkungula also warned that the world remains significantly off-track in meeting the 1.5°C temperature goal.
“For Malawi, as a climate-vulnerable Least Developed Country, COP30 is a critical platform to ensure our voice is heard. Our priorities will include climate finance, adaptation ambition, loss and damage, just energy transition, and nature-based solutions,” he said.
Mkungula added that Malawi’s recent leadership as chair of the Least-Developed Countries (LDC) Group since 2024 reflects the country’s commitment to climate diplomacy.
He encouraged delegates to carry the same spirit into COP30, ensuring Malawi’s voice is amplified not only as a nation but also as part of the LDC Group, the African Group, and the G77 and China.
The principal secretary urged participants to approach the summit with a full grasp of Malawi’s national priorities, challenges, and gaps to strengthen negotiations and multilateral as well as bilateral engagements.
On his part, UNDP Resilience and Sustainable Growth Portfolio Manager,Rabi Gaudo, praised the Malawi Government for its strong leadership in coordinating national climate action, which he described as the foundation of global climate ambition.
Gaudo said the preparatory meeting was an essential step to ensure Malawi presents a unified, coherent, and impactful voice at COP30.
“The impacts of climate change on Malawi are profound and far-reaching. Increasingly frequent droughts, floods, and unpredictable rainfall patterns continue to erode development gains, threaten food security, and deepen socio-economic inequalities.The burden falls most heavily on women, young people, and marginalized communities,” he said.
Gaudo stressed that Malawi must move beyond negotiating positions to ensure that climate action is visible, measurable, and transformative.
Solutions, he said, must be inclusive, equitable, and innovative, leaving no one behind.
“COP30 represents a critical milestone in global climate diplomacy. It will set the path for the next decade of climate action under the enhanced ambition of the third cycle of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).For Malawi, it is both a chance to present its revised NDCs and to demonstrate that its strategies are aligned with global targets while rooted in national realities,” said Gaudo.
The COP30’s main themes include reducing greenhouse gas emissions,adaptation to climate change
climate finance for developing countries
renewable energy technologies and low-carbon solutions,preserving forests and biodiversity
climate justice and the social impacts of climate change.
