His Excellency Macky Sall, President of Senegal, today used his address to the plenary of the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties to highlight the importance of climate finance, calling for the Green Climate Fund to receive sufficient resources to support both adaptation efforts and clean technology transfers to Africa.

President Sall called for the Fund to dedicate significant resources to support efforts to create universal access to clean electricity in Africa over the coming ten years.

The President later met with GCF’s Executive Director, Héla Cheikhrouhou, at the Fund’s stand at the COP.

Senegal will be the beneficiary of one of the Fund’s first investments, a project to restore salinized lands in the coastal region, and to increase the climate resilience of the region’s population.

The President’s speech highlighted the issue of salinization alongside severe flooding and desertification as being amongst the principal climate-change induced issues facing his country. His full statement can be watched here (in French).

The GCF stand is located in Hall 3 of the Blue Zone at COP21.