Participants gathered at the SASSCAL 2.0 Kick-off meeting had a chance to glance at the future projected temperatures in SADC. German Ambassador to Namibia, H.E Herbert Beck has reminded the world to take heed of warnings of the worsening effects of climate change. The ambassador was speaking in Windhoek recently during the launch of the SASSCAL 2.0 Research Programme.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently reminded us that the world was heading to 2.8 degrees Celsius of global warming instead of 2 degrees Celsius. “So, I am a bit worried but also, I believe in science and solutions”, he said. The launch, which happened over two days from 22-23 March 2023 was held under the theme; “Towards impactful research outcomes for climate adaptation and mitigation in the Southern Africa region”.
To this end, SASSCAL’ s German Alternate Board Member, Dr Svenja Kruse who also represented the BMBF at the occasion remarked that due to the importance attached to the development and implementation of the climate change adaption strategy, the BMBF, partner countries and five countries in Southern Africa initiated the establishment of SASSCAL more than 10 years ago. Dr Kruse expressed her excitement to see so many interested and involved partners as well as all implementers of the second phase research projects at the launch. BMBF is SASSCAL’s initial and main funder.