The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi has joined the United States to blame climate change for major floods that have claimed around 100 lives in the capital Kinshasa.
Despite a series of international conferences, scientists say that the planet is far off course from meeting an UN-blessed goal of checking warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.
“The DRC is under pressure but unfortunately it’s not sufficiently heard or supported,” President Tshisekedi told Secretary of State Antony Blinken as they met at a US-Africa summit in Washington.
The flooding is an example of “what we have been deploring for some time,” he said. “Support must come from countries that pollute and unfortunately trigger the harmful consequences in our countries that lack the means to protect themselves,”.
Blinken offered condolences for the deaths, saying that the flooding was “further evidence of the challenges we are facing with climate and something we need to work on together.”
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Blinken was also speaking to Tshisekedi as the United States puts pressure on Rwanda to stop alleged support for M23 rebels who have made rapid advances in the eastern DRC.
“Our country is unfortunately the victim of a secret aggression by Rwanda through the M23 movement,” Tshisekedi said. “It is causing serious destabilization in part of our country that is already in distress, with hundreds of thousands of displaced living in precarious conditions.”
Story was adapted from France 24.
