**Maseru, Lesotho** – On Thursday, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called on wealthier nations to uphold their promises to assist impoverished countries in combating climate change during his address to Lesotho’s Parliament. He also expressed hope for Africa to secure permanent seats on the U.N. Security Council in the near future.
Guterres is on a three-day tour of southern Africa, having spent Wednesday in South Africa. During his two-day stay in Lesotho, a small mountainous nation landlocked by South Africa, he plans to visit the Katse Dam, which plays a crucial role in the country’s aspirations to effectively manage its water resources.
His visit places particular emphasis on the financial support that poor nations in Africa and elsewhere desperately require to tackle the challenges posed by climate change. Despite contributing minimally to global emissions, Africa is among the continents experiencing the most severe consequences of climate change.
At last month’s U.N. climate discussions in Azerbaijan, an agreement was reached to allocate at least $300 billion annually to assist developing nations in addressing the ramifications of climate change. However, this figure fell significantly short of the over $1 trillion that these countries were requesting.
Speaking to the legislators in Lesotho, Guterres stated, “Developed countries must fulfill their obligations and provide the pledged $300 billion each year for climate finance.” He added that landlocked and least-developed nations like Lesotho are particularly vulnerable in this context.
Additionally, he stressed the urgent need to make the newly established Loss and Damage Fund operational and to ensure it is generously funded by those most responsible for environmental degradation.
Southern Africa is currently experiencing a severe drought, leading to a hunger crisis that affects over 27 million people, according to U.N. reports. Lesotho, along with several other nations in the region, has declared a national disaster due to the devastating effects of this drought on agricultural yields.
This drought has been linked to the El Niño weather phenomenon, while other recent crises, including alarming cholera outbreaks and flooding across parts of East Africa, have been attributed to climate change.
A recent report from the World Meteorological Organization highlighted that African nations are losing up to 5% of their GDP annually due to climate change, enduring a more pronounced burden than other regions.
During his stop in South Africa, Guterres articulated his aspiration for African representation on the Security Council, suggesting that he hoped there would be at least two permanent African members by the conclusion of his term in December 2026, though he admitted that achieving this goal would be challenging. In his remarks in Lesotho, he referred to the absence of permanent representation for Africa—home to over 1.4 billion people—as another “injustice” against the continent.
“When a continent housing nearly a fifth of humanity is continuously left out of global decision-making, we must recognize it for what it is: a relic of colonialism that has no relevance in today’s society,” Guterres asserted.
On Friday, he is scheduled to visit the Katse Dam, which is part of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. This initiative aims to construct a network of dams and tunnels that will channel some of Lesotho’s water supplies into South Africa’s river systems to alleviate the neighboring country’s water scarcity issues.
