On this World Environment Day, the Great Green Wall illustrates the climate commitment of President Macky Sall. The date of 5 June recalls a simple reality. Climate change strikes first the countries that have contributed least to global emissions. The Sahel stands on the front line.
President Macky Sall knows this reality as a head of state. Under his presidency, Senegal provided recognized 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, soils regenerated and communities stabilized.
This work on the ground was matched by constant advocacy in international forums. At the COPs, at the G7 and at the G20, President Macky Sall defended climate finance for developing countries. He recalled a demand of justice. Vulnerable countries cannot fund alone their adaptation to a crisis they did not cause. This advocacy helped place adaptation and loss and damage at the centre of the negotiations.
This 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. Financing mechanisms must become accessible to the countries that need them most. The United Nations must carry this demand 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 distinguishes the career of President Macky Sall. It grounds a pragmatic approach: measure, finance, restore, report.
World Environment Day is not a commemoration. It 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.