Bonn, Germany, Nov 15, -The African Union Commission (AUC) has called
on Africans attending the ongoing UN Conference of Parties (COP23) underway in
Bonn, Germany, to push for an outcome of concrete treaty that would ensure
long-term financing for climate change.
That financing, the AU noted,
during the Africa Day event, held along-side COP23, should also help Africa to
implement its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and also implement the
Paris Agreement.
Speaking on behalf of Mr Moussa
Faki Mahamat, the Chairperson of the African Union, Mrs Josefa Leonel Correia
Sacko, Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, AUC, urged all
stakeholders to ensure the operationalisation of the 100,000 billion dollars
per year from 2020 and other resources for developing countries in the
implementation of the Paris Agreement.
“Africa also needs to stand for
unconditional access to climate finance and mechanism for all countries that
have no historic responsibility for climate change,” Mrs Sacko said.
She said the continent needed to
embark on the development and adoption of clean technology but without being
compelled to mitigate climate change.
“Africa needs a robust capacity
building programme to enable the continent to build resilience, the Continent
also need to put in more efforts in disaster risk reduction, especially those
associated with climate change as they are on the increase”.
The AU also asked Africa to
really implement the Paris Agreement, since the cost of climate change was
unaffordable for the continent.
Mrs Sacko, however, announced
that through the support of the European Union, Africa was implementing the
continental programme on disaster risk reduction, as well as working together
with the EU for support in the implementation of NDCs and on global climate
framework service in Africa.
“However, there is the need for
more and stronger partnership engagement with closer international cooperation
to help African countries to effectively deliver on their commitment,” she
said.
Mrs Sacko called for the
strengthening of North, South, and South-South cooperation in the implementation
of the Paris Agreement.
The Africa day event was a very
important part of the yearly COP, which helped in enhancing Africa’s position
and clarity of interest in the climate negotiation process.
The AU Commission in
collaboration with the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency; the African
Development Bank; and the UN Economic Commission for Africa in partnership with
the Central African region’s Economic Committee for the Central Africa States;
Gabon, Congo; and DRC, jointly organized the Africa Day side event to showcase
the best practices and African priorities at COP 23.
The theme of the Africa day was:
“Partnership for the Implementation of Paris Agreement: Africa’s response.”
The main objective of the African
Day event was to provide a platform and an opportunity to share ideas on the
nature and effectiveness of partnership needed for accelerated implementation
of the Paris Agreement in Africa with a focus on the implementation.
More specifically, the Africa Day
seeks to outline Africa’s priorities for the implementation of the NDCs in the
context of the Paris Agreement; and review the implications and prospects for
the implementation of the NDCs for Africa, including associated opportunities
for enhanced partnerships with both public and private sectors to scale up
climate action in Africa.
It also created a platform for
open conversation on issues related to the need for partnership to mobilize
means of implementation for NDCs to support African countries’ national
development strategies that were inclusive and aligned to climate-resilient and
low carbon transition.
It also provided a platform to
debate on the existing partnership opportunities for NDCs’ financing in Africa,
in the context of the Paris Agreement and of SDGs in Africa.
In attendance, were President
Denis Sassuo Nguesso of Congo and President Alpha Conde of the Republic of
Guinea, who doubles as the Chairperson of the African Union, as well as some
African Ministers of States, technocrats, civil society activists, African observers,
negotiators, and parties as well as the media.
The UN climate summit COP23 in
Bonn that opened on Monday November 7, gradually draws to a close on Friday
November 17, as delegates entered the last stretch of the two-week conference.
GNA
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