Speaker of Parliament, Oboth Oboth, has warned about the country’s declining forest cover, calling for stronger action to address environmental challenges and accelerate the transition to a green economy.
Oboth spoke on Wednesday, October 14, while officiating as the chief guest at the 3rd CEOs’ Breakfast Meeting and High-Level Dialogue on accelerating Uganda’s green economy transition through digital transformation.
He stressed that environmental protection requires collective responsibility, cautioning that humanity cannot prevail in a battle against nature.
“As Pope Francis wrote in Laudato Si’, ‘The climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all,’” Oboth said, emphasising the need to recognise the connection between environmental protection and social welfare.
The Speaker noted that climate change has become a major global concern, with the consequences extending beyond environmental damage to affect economies and livelihoods.
He cited figures showing that the last 11 years were the hottest on record, while global temperatures in 2025 were approximately 1.43 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
Oboth also highlighted Africa’s vulnerability to climate change, noting that the continent contributes less than four per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions but loses between two and five per cent of its gross domestic product annually due to climate-related shocks.
He raised particular concern over Uganda’s shrinking forest cover, which he said had declined from 24 per cent in 1990 to 11.8 per cent currently.
Between 2020 and 2025, Uganda reportedly lost an average of 38,000 hectares of forest annually, equivalent to approximately one football pitch every 10 minutes.
Oboth pledged Parliament’s continued involvement in addressing the crisis through legislation, budget allocations and oversight to ensure environmental commitments translate into tangible action.
He welcomed the One Constituency One Million Trees Initiative, which seeks to promote tree planting, and expressed support for the seventh Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Run scheduled for November 8, 2026.
Beyond conservation, the Speaker described the green economy transition as an opportunity to attract investment, encourage innovation and create jobs.
He pledged Parliament’s support for initiatives aimed at advancing sustainable development, arguing that environmental protection and economic growth should be pursued together.
“The climate belongs to us all. We can never win a fight against Mother Nature,” Oboth said, reiterating the need for collective action to protect the environment for future generations.