The 5th of June, World Environment Day, recalls a simple reality: climate change strikes first the countries that have contributed least to global emissions, and the Sahel stands on the front line. On that front, the Great Green Wall illustrates the climate commitment of President Macky Sall.
President Macky Sall knows this reality as a head of state. Under his presidency, Senegal provided recognised leadership on the Great Green Wall, the pan-African project to restore the lands of the Sahel. The record is concrete: 12 million trees planted and 25,000 hectares of land restored in Senegal during his tenure. These figures translate into jobs created and soils regenerated, which bring stability to communities.
This work on the ground was matched by constant advocacy in international forums. At the COPs, at the G7 as well as the G20, President Macky Sall defended climate finance for developing countries. There he recalled a demand of justice: vulnerable countries cannot fund on their own their adaptation to a crisis they did not cause. This advocacy helped place adaptation and loss and damage at the centre of the negotiations.
That experience informs his candidacy for Secretary-General of the United Nations. His vision proposes to put climate justice back at the centre of the international financial architecture. Pledges must be disbursed and financing mechanisms made accessible to the countries that need them most, a demand the United Nations must carry with method and constancy.
Few candidates for this office have led a Sahelian country confronted every day with the advance of the desert, coastal erosion and pressure on water resources. This direct experience sets apart the career of President Macky Sall. It grounds a pragmatic approach: measure and finance, restore, then report.
World Environment Day is a call to action. President Macky Sall intends to place his experience of the Sahelian field and of global negotiations at the service of all Member States. The details of his climate vision are available at www.mackysall.net.