Skopje, 30 January 2024 (MIA) – Adapting to climate change means taking action to plan and adapt to the current and expected consequences of climate change. As a country, we have drafted four national plans on climate change which thoroughly analyze climate scenarios as well as their impacts on affected sectors and propose measures for the mitigation of effects in all sectors, said Minister of Environment and Physical Planning, Kaja Shukova, in her address Tuesday at the closing conference of the project on increasing local resilience to climate change hosted by the Center for Climate Change.

“Additionally, the Ministry has prepared the draft Law on Climate Change, which was subject to public discussions on several occasions in 2023. Long-term cooperation between the national and especially the local institutions awaits us in the field of implementing adaptation measures, in addition to the adoption of the legal framework,” said Shukova, adding that on a national level, as a small country vulnerable to climate change, North Macedonia will especially commit itself to the adoption of the National Adaption Plan, whose implementation, she said, will require additional financial and technical assistance from the donor community

The head of the Crisis Management Center (CMC), Stojanche Angelov, said the risks related to natural disasters and crises as a result of climate change are growing and increasingly causing damages and consequences impacting the environment, the state’s material goods, and, he said, they often affect the health and lives of the citizens.

“Led by this, the CMC is paying special attention to the fulfillment of its competencies in the field of drafting and updating safety assessments in the municipalities, the City of Skopje and the Republic. These activities are being implemented in organized and coordinated cooperation with all entities of the crisis management system, on a local and national level,” stressed Angelov.

Photo: MIA