Experts Brainstorm On Africa’s Needs Ahead Of COP27

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Amid growing agitation and clarion call for urgent action to safeguard Africa from climate change, experts and stakeholders in the environment sector converged in Libreville, the Gabonese capital on Monday, to brainstorm on the needs of continent.

The meeting which was convened under the auspices of the 2022 Africa Climate Week, took place as preparations for COP27 holding in Egypt in November this year, gather momentum. It was held under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Africa Climate Week, one of a series of regional climate weeks, gives a voice to a range of actors and partners: civil society, women, local communities and financial institutions.

Notably, this year’s edition of the event offers a forum for discussion on how to contribute most effectively to COP27 and achieve the Paris agreement objectives
More than 1200 delegates attended the event, which also provided a crucial platform for the continent to address social inequalities and invest in development to advance climate action and safeguard people and ecosystems.

At the opening ceremony, the President of Gabon, Ali Bongo Ondimba highlighted his country’s efforts to boost climate action and called for continuous collective efforts.

“For more than ten years, we have intensified our efforts to protect our remarkable forestry heritage and build a low-carbon economy”, he said.
Consequently, according to the president, Gabon, which has already achieved the objectives set by the Paris Agreement, is considered the most carbon-positive country in the world.

Similarly, the Secretary-General of the Common Wealth of Nations, Patricia Janet Scotland said: “If we choose, we can be the solution we need, Africa can be the answer. And this is our time. We are the first generation to suffer the consequences of climate change but we are the last generation able to do anything about it”.

African governments and all other African voices, be they civil society, youth, women’s groups, farmers, workers, academia and the thriving African private sector, should all continue to call for climate justice”, he added.

Also in his remarks, the African Union (AU) Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, Josefa Sacko urged African countries to maintain a common stance as the continent tackles the impacts of climate change to achieve its long-term goals.

The opening session featured a ministerial dialogue on the challenges of mobilizing and accessing climate finance at scale to spur the implementation of countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and priority national climate plans and strategies.

A representative of the youth at the event, Omnia El Omrani said that commitments to climate action in Africa needed accelerating. “It’s time for real action. Let this generation be the last generation to face the climate crisis”, he stressed.

In his contribution, the African Development Bank Group Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate & Green Growth, Kevin Kariuki expressed this organisation’s commitment to promoting a just transition and greening the economy/

“For us, a just transition is all about greening the economy in such a way that it is fair and inclusive, and that ensures the costs and benefits of the transition to low carbon and climate-resilient development are shared across the entire economy”, he further explained.

The Bank’s 2022 Africa Economic Outlook report projects that Africa will need as much as $1.6 trillion between 2020-2030 to implement its climate action commitments and NDCs.

Meanwhile, the bank group has committed to mobilizing $25 billion for climate finance by 2025; more than 50 percent of that funding will be allocated to adaptation projects.