The Speaker of Parliament of Uganda, Anita Annet Among, has declared the Parliament’s commitment to spearhead a tree-planting initiative and called upon the populace to get involved in the fight against global warming.

This stemmed from the closure of schools in neighbouring South Sudan due to an alarming rise in temperature, which reached around 45 degrees Celsius.

The Speaker made these remarks on her official X-handle on Monday, March 18, 2024.

According to Speaker Among, the event is a wakeup call for leaders to join forces in the fight against global warming and that each tree planted can make a profound impact on reducing the effects of global warming.

“You may be aware that our South Sudanese neighbours have taken the drastic step of closing schools due to the alarming rise in temperatures, reaching as high as 45 degrees Celsius! This is a wake-up call for us, as leaders, to join forces in the fight against global warming,” Among said.

Running Out of Trees (ROOTS) is an initiative established by the Ministry of Water and Environment together with public and private partners to restore Uganda’s tree cover by 200 million trees over a five-year period until 2026, planting 40 million trees each year, symbolising a tree for every Ugandan.

In June 2023, Uganda embarked on the development of a National Adaption Plan (NAP) with the aim of strengthening resilience to climate change impacts by mainstreaming adaptation into policies and programmes at different levels.