As negotiations at the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn and the exploratory talks in Berlin on forming a new government are being concluded, Ottmar Edenhofer, Chief Economist of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impacts Research (PIK) and Director of the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC), emphasises that the world must get out of coal, and reform emissions trading and energy taxes
Ottmar Edenhofer, Chief Economist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)
The world is in a coal trap – and the UN Climate Change Conference has not changed that. The coal trap looks like this: from one side we are being pressurised by the sheer mass of available coal which is cheap in price, but the world will have to pay for it dearly in terms of climate risks, health threats and damages to our economies. Because from the other side, the emissions of this dirtiest of all fuels are pushing onto us. Humankind must free itself from this coal trap if it wants to limit the costs of climate change.
Three things can help: first, the dialogue process launched at the conference and referred to as Talanoa in Fiji must not only aim to improve greenhouse gas reduction targets, but bring forward tangible policies to achieve these targets. Secondly, we need effective pricing of CO2 worldwide; pioneers such as the EU must start with a minimum price in 2018. Thirdly, Germany should change its energy taxation in a socially responsible manner during this parliamentary term of the Bundestag. Currently, clean electricity and gas which is at least not that climate-damaging are being taxed at a higher rate than dirty lignite, which is absurd from the perspective of economic research.
The results of coalition talks must be measured against this – we simply have to get out of coal, we need to reform emissions trading and energy taxes. In the end, this is what serves our economy best. Rebuilding our energy system offers enormous opportunities for modernisation. From power generation from sun and wind, to smarter power grids and storage, to households, it’s all about the digitalisation that has been called for by so many.
An event showcasing initiatives to support measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) and the transparency of action and support was held on Monday, November 13, 2017, during the 23rd Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP23) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bonn, Germany.
COP23 High Level Segment family photo
The expert panel – the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the UNDP/UN Environment Global Support Programme (GSP), and the Initiative for Climate Action Transparency (ICAT-UNEP-DTU) – presented support initiatives focused on the enhancement of developing countries’ national capacity to effectively participate in the existing MRV arrangements under the Convention, as well as their preparations to implement the modalities, procedures and guidelines of the transparency framework under the Paris Agreement. A representative from the National Council for Climate Change and the Clean Development Mechanism of the Dominican Republic also provided their experience and lessons learned in mobilising and accessing necessary support in a timely manner.
The event was moderated by the UNFCCC secretariat. It was well-attended and generated interest and views from the audience during an interactive Question and Answer session.
Overall, the panel discussion reinforced the idea that effective participation in the current MRV arrangements under the Convention and transparency framework under the Paris Agreement requires long-term efforts for capacity-building support in developing countries and a systemic approach to build robust and sustainable national MRV systems. The panelists highlighted the need to ensure that the information prepared and submitted in national reports is relevant to national development process by informing relevant policies, plans and thus gaining political buy-in at national level. The degree to which support opportunities are effectively utilised can be enhanced by a high degree of political commitment from policy-makers and government officials.
The representatives of support providers outlined their initiatives available to developing countries to strengthen or establish national MRV systems. The financial, technical and capacity-building support has been provided in areas of, inter alia, developing legal frameworks and instruments; enhancing or consolidating existing institutional arrangements; improving data collection and management; and producing high quality national communications and biennial update reports (also known as BURs).
The Dominican Republic shared their experience and lessons learned in conducting a technical, institutional and legal analysis to examine the current situation and identify the gaps in regards to the main elements that make up a national MRV/Transparency System that is compatible with national data management practices as well as with reporting requirements to the UNFCCC. Their aim is to produce a mapping of existing relevant institutions that will play a role in the institutional arrangement to implement the MRV system; and to create a road map detailing the activities that need to be implemented for obtaining reliable and regular information on GHG emissions and reductions.
The interactive discussion with the audience led to an emphasis on the need for developing countries to encapsulate the knowledge and experience gained from the MRV process, as well as showcase their efforts and progress made.
The Southern Indian state of Telanagana has embarked on a unique way to get rid of open defecation, using drones.
Drones
As a pilot project, cops have deployed drones on the banks of a local reservoir in the state’s Karimnagar district to prevent people from defecating near the dam.
The Lower Manair Dam is a drinking water source for the people of Karimnagar town and “if successful, the scheme will be replicated in other districts also,” officials said on Friday, November 17, 2017.
Local police chief Kamalasan Reddy said the scheme has already started yielding results.
“The number of people indulging in open defecation has come down drastically,” he told the media.
Urination and defecation in the open are common in several parts of rural India and even in some semi-urban areas and a few urban areas too.
This is despite the Indian government offering cash incentives to subsidise construction of toilets, and initiating hygiene and sanitation awareness campaigns like “No Toilet, No Bride”.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made eliminating open defecation in this country a priority, and wants every home to be installed with a toilet by 2019.
The 23rd Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP23) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bonn, Germany is the first UN Climate Change Conference to receive official certification for eco-friendly performance.
German Federal Environment Minister, Barbara Hendricks, with Fijian cultural dancers
The German Federal Environment Minister, Barbara Hendricks, and UN Climate Change Deputy Executive Secretary, Ovais Sarmad, were on Friday, November 17, 2017 presented with the Eco-management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) certificate. The certificate verifies the event management’s successful and environmentally-friendly organisation of the conference.
Event managers were already aiming for the consistent prevention of environmental burdens when planning began eleven months ago, and their work was documented in the environmental statement required under EMAS.
Hendricks said: “We have succeeded in making this Climate Change Conference environmentally friendly and sustainable. This is an important signal for a conference which is not just about negotiations, but also about taking action. It goes without saying that there is still room for improvement in certain areas – this COP only marks the start of the learning curve. I highly recommend using EMAS as the yardstick for future Climate Change Conferences.”
Sarmad said: “I want to thank the German government, the people of Bonn and my own staff for embracing wholeheartedly the UN climate conference 2017 and its ambition to be the greenest COP ever. We are fortunate indeed to be headquartered in a country that is working towards a determined transition to an environmentally-friendly and ever more sustainable future. That said, achieving the high EMAS certification approval was not a given.
“But here I think we have together raised the sustainability bar of UN conferences with some 28,800 people participating over the two weeks. I am sure many will look to what has been achieved, within the UN system and beyond, for inspiration on how all events and conferences can play their part in meeting the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.”
All goals and measures were documented in the environmental statement, then assessed on-site over several days by environmental verifiers and subsequently validated. Such measures included waste avoidance and strict waste separation, climate-friendly catering, excellent local public transport, climate-neutral shuttle services and environmentally sound and reusable materials also for the temporary structures. Energy supply and water consumption are also among the areas to be reviewed in the follow-up.
The role of the 650 volunteers who supported the conference and received training on COP23 environmental issues, should not be underestimated. They inform participants, for instance, about the numerous drinking fountains throughout the conference premises (almost 50) where participants can refill their COP23 reusable bottles they received on registering. The environmental verifier confirmed that this approach also worked well.
After the conference, data on consumption, collected data and the goals and measures of the original environmental statement will be evaluated and examined again by the environmental verifier. This will include a precise calculation of the unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions caused, for example, by the arrival and departure of the participants. These emissions will be offset with certified emission reduction (CERs) credits from particularly ambitious international climate action projects.
The IHK (The Chamber of Commerce and Industry) of Duisburg, which is responsible for Bonn, also handed over the registration certificate for the official EMAS database. COP23 will be added to the EMAS register, which now contains over 9,000 sites of companies and organisations committed to environmental protection.
Nigeria is in the top three worst countries in the world for the number of people without toilets, reveals WaterAid’s State of the World’s Toilets 2017 report. As a result, nearly 123 million people still suffer the fear and indignity of relieving themselves in the open or in unsafe or unhygienic toilets – a situation that is most dangerous for girls and women.
A school toilet for girls
“Out of Order”, WaterAid’s third-annual analysis of the world’s toilets released ahead of World Toilet Day, reveals that,globally, one in three people still have nowhere decent to go to the toilet, and demonstrates how women and girls bear the brunt of this global crisis. For more than 1.1 billion women and girls, this injustice results in an increased risk of poor health, limited education, harassment and even attack.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, comes in at third place for the worst countries for the numbers of people with access to basic sanitation. Despite being sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest economy, it is also sixth worst for addressing open defecation, with the percentage of people defecating in the open increasing from 22.6% in 2000 to 25.5% in 2015.
The proportion of people without basic sanitation has also gone up, and two thirds of schools have no decent toilets. This sanitation crisis contributed to the deaths of nearly 60,000 children each year from related diarrhoeal diseases.
Oluseyi Abdulmalik, WaterAid Nigeria’s Communications and Media Manager, said: “Seven in 10 people in Nigeria have nowhere safe to go to the toilets, equating to an overwhelming 123 million people. This denial of human rights contributes to the deaths of around 165 children under five every single day, and holds women and girls back from fulfilling their potential.
“We need urgent action to turn this situation around. Addressing the sanitation crisis with particular focus on the needs of women and girls will help lift entire communities out of poverty.
“We often call on Government to prioritise sanitation and investment in the sector and while this is as it should be, sanitation is really everyone’s responsibility. We all have a part to play – as individuals, property/home owners, families, work groups, unions and associations, civil society organisations, the media, the private sector, and yes, Government at all levels.”
Among the other findings in the report released by WaterAid this World Toilet Day:
All 10 of the world’s worst countries for access to basic sanitation by percentage are in sub-Saharan Africa, where only 28% of people have a decent toilet, and children are 14 times more likely to die before the age of five than in developed regions.
Ethiopia is top of the list of countries with the greatest percentage of people living without decent toilets. Conversely, Ethiopia has also made the most progress in reducing open defecation, largely by investing in rudimentary community latrines.
With more than 355 million women and girls still waiting for access to basic sanitation, India tops the list for the longest queue for the toilet. However, there has been immense progress through the Swachh Bharat Mission, helping put India in the top 10 for reducing open defecation and improving access to basic sanitation.
Djibouti, a major route for refugees from the Yemen war, has the worst figures for open defecation, with a 7.2% increase since 2000.
Between 2000 and 2015, the number of people in the world defecating in the open dropped from 1.2 billion (20% of the global population) to 892 million (12%). Despite this progress, it is still a huge problem, resulting in enough faeces to fill seven bathtubs every second going into the environment untreated.
It is unacceptable that one in three of the world’s population have nowhere safe to go to the toilet. This is a denial of their basic human rights and contributes to the appalling death toll from diarrhoeal disease of one child every two minutes. A community without toilets is particularly hard for women and girls who are exposed to an increased risk of harassment and attack when finding somewhere to do their business, find it more difficult to cope during their periods, and spend more time both ill themselves and caring for those who are sick.
The world has promised that by 2030 everyone will have a safe toilet but, whilst there has been considerable progress made over the last couple of decades, this target will not be met unless there is a step change in ambition and action.
WaterAid is calling for governments to:
Invest more money and spend it transparently and efficiently, paying particular attention to the needs of women and girls
Promote the value of sanitation for gender equality and female empowerment, and involve women as leaders to ensure solutions address the challenges women and girls face.
Improve coordination to create gender-friendly toilets in all schools, healthcare facilities, work environments and public spaces.
Combine plans to improve access to sanitation with efforts to redistribute water and hygiene work, which is predominantly the responsibility of women and girls.
What WaterAid Nigeria is doing this World Toilet Day
The theme for 2017 World Toilet Day is “Wastewater” in line with the Sustainable Development Goal’s aim to reach everyone, everywhere with sanitation, and halve the proportion of untreated wastewater and increase recycling and safe reuse. For that to be achieved, we need everyone’s waste to be contained, transported, treated and disposed of in a safe and sustainable way.
“This World Toilet Day is an opportunity for us to strengthen and sustain partnerships among stakeholders, especially aimed at raising awareness, mobilising and inspiring community actions to tackle the global sanitation crisis. WaterAid is joining the Youth WASH Network, UNICEF, Action Against Hunger, the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and other partners under the auspices of the National Task Group on Sanitation to commemorate this year’s World Toilet Day with a Toilet4All campaign.”
The campaign is an open defecation free crusade aimed at using public lectures, edutainment and media communication as a strategy for mobilising everyone, everywhere to construct, use and maintain toilets as well as promotes wastewater management and recycling in schools, healthcare facilities, communities and public places across the country.
The Toilet4All campaign also supports Nigeria’s 2025 Open Defecation Roadmap spearheaded by the NTGS and supported by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources. The vision is to engage and empower citizens towards construction, use and maintenance of toilets as well as promote knowledge about wastewater management and recycling in schools, healthcare facilities, communities and public places across the country as an effective strategy for diseases prevention.
The campaign also seeks to promote, inspire and empower young people and women in communities to serve as advocate for wastewater management, recycling and reuse of solid and liquid waste; increase awareness on the effects of indiscriminate disposal of wastewater on shallow ground /surface water system on human health which is the major cause of typhoid, diarrhoea etc.
Non-state actors following negotiations at the Bonn climate talks (COP23) have deplored the resort to empty words on climate change by global leaders during the high-level segment of the two-week conference.
Prime Minister of Fiji, Voreqe Frank Bainimarama. Photo credit: Fijian Government
Fijian Prime Minister and COP23 President, Frank Bainimarama, at the high-level segment on Thursday, November 16, 2017 called on the country representatives to remain focused to ensure a successful outcome to the conference. “Future generations are counting on us. Let us act now,” he said.
Sequel to Bainimarama’s speech, a young boy from Fiji recounted the story of how his home was destroyed in a recent natural disaster, asking government representatives in the room “What can you do?” to protect the climate. “Climate change is here to stay, unless you do something about it,” he told the delegates.
Germany’s President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said that recent extreme weather events have shown that time was pressing. “I have no doubt that this urgency warns us to make haste and act decisively,” he said.
The “historic climate agreement” reached in Paris in 2015 and “the path we have taken since” must remain irreversible. “Paris can only be called a breakthrough if we follow up on the agreement with actions,” said Steinmeier.
Hopes for a strong statement on Germany’s climate goals and the future role of coal were dashed as Chancellor Angela Merkel disappointed only called on the world to walk the talk on climate at the global conference in Bonn.
“This conference must send out the serious signal that the Paris Agreement was a starting point, but the work has only begun.” Today’s pledges in the nationally-determined contributions were not enough to keep global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius, she said. “Now it’s about walking the talk.”
Speaking after the chancellor, French President Emmanuel Macron, said that the summit should send the message that “we can all come together” to mobilise the necessary public and private funds to act on climate.
To guarantee quality science needed to make climate policy decisions, Macron proposed that the EU should fill the financing gap for the IPCC left open by the US administration’s decision to reduce funding.
“France will meet that challenge, and I would like to see the largest number of European countries by our side,” said Macron. “All together, we can compensate for the loss of US funding.”
Reacting almost immediately after the high-level segment, civil society groups from across the world described their statements as empty words with no concrete plan of action.
The Pan African Climate Justice Alliance, (PACJA) accused the leaders of “playing hide and seek” with the lives of Africans who according to them are being cut short daily due to historic and ongoing actions of the developed world against the climate.
What we need, according to John Bideri, co-Chair of the Alliance, are “enhanced actions on the provision of $100 billion per year up to 2020 and a new finance goal which should reflect the scientific requirements and needs of African countries.”
“Advocacy-tainted speeches by leaders of polluter countries will not keep global temperatures from unprecedented levels, what is important now is a finance goal that will first and foremost help African countries to adapt, mitigate and cover loss and damage arising from climate change impacts,” Mithika Mwenda, PACJA’s Secretary General, added.
“This message from the host of a world climate conference must sound cruel to the poorest countries most strongly affected by climate change,” commented Oxfam Germany’s climate expert Jan Kowalzig.
Germany ran the risk of missing its climate goals, while in Berlin “three out of four parties to a potential Jamaica coalition’ block the measures needed to prevent such an embarrassing failure”.
Greenpeace Germany’s Managing Director Sweelin Heuss said that Merkel “avoided to give the only answer she had to give in Bonn: When will Germany fully exit coal?” Without a coal exit, Germany could not meet the pledge it made in Paris. “That’s a disastrous signal coming out of this climate conference,” said Heuss.
Representatives from science, climate activists, and small island states appealed to Merkel to meet the country’s 2020 CO2 reduction target ahead of her much-anticipated speech.
Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), said Germany had the ability to quit coal use but instead there was the “perverse” situation where it generated power from coal, which then was exported.
“Angela Merkel has been a great climate champion but her credibility is hanging in the balance,” Jennifer Morgan, Executive Director of Greenpeace International, said.
President Hilda Heine, of the Marshall Islands, added: “We are just two metres above sea level. For Germany to phase-out coal and follow a 1.5°C pathway would be a signal of hope to us and all other nations in danger from climate change.”
As the COP winds to a close Friday, speculations are rife that the conference will end without substantially addressing relevant concerns on temperature limits, finance and other means of implementation for the Paris Agreement.
To ensure the timely implementation of its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), Nigeria says it has developed a robust National Sectoral Action Plan across the five priority sectors, which are: agriculture, energy, transportation, industry and oil & gas.
Environment Minister of State and Head of Delegation to COP23, Ibrahim Usman Jibril, delivering the Nigeria National Statement
The West African nation added that it had also embraced issuance of green bond, ostensibly as an alternative source of funding green projects that would reduce emissions and provide robust climate infrastructure needed in the country.
The submission formed part of the Nigerian National Statement delivered by the Environment Minister of State and Head of Delegation, Ibrahim Usman Jibril, on Thursday, November 16, 2017 at the 23rd Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP23) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change holding in Bonn, Germany.
The minister added that this would also manifest in renewable energy, low carbon transport, water infrastructure and sustainable agriculture. He disclosed that Nigeria would launch the first “Sovereign Green Bonds” in Africa in the coming weeks.
“Similarly, we will continue to show a profound interest in contributing to effective global action on climate change,” he said, adding that science has proved beyond reasonable doubt the certainty of the phenomenon.
“So, we must stand united to ensure that the outcome of this Conference comprehensively address what we need to do as prescribed by the Paris Agreement to deal with fundamental challenges of climate change. We are prepared to work with all Parties, in the spirit of collaboration and cooperation with a view to achieving the outcome that will be universally agreeable and beneficial to mankind of all generations,” said the minister.
According to him, up-scaling funding to address the impacts of climate change on livelihoods and ecosystems through an over-arching financial architecture to finance adaptation and mitigation measures is of high priority to Nigeria.
“This should include implementing the gender action plan under the Lima Work Programme on Gender,” he stated, adding that Nigeria is firmly committed to seeing that current areas of contentions with respect to the financial mechanism, adaptation framework and institutional arrangements, technology transfer and capacity building are resolved to the benefit of all Parties.
“We need to urgently move to remove barriers that impede developing countries from effectively accessing global climate finance such as the Adaptation Fund, and the Green Climate Change Fund (GCF), amongst others,” declared the minister.
We called for a focused session that would, according to him, make substantive progress through constructive discussions across all areas of the Paris Agreement work programme “in a balanced manner to enable us come up with a first-hand information on the implementation guidelines of the Paris Agreement well ahead of the 2018 Session including accelerating the implementation of the pre-2020 commitments and actions and increasing the pre-2020 ambition in accordance with paragraphs 3 and 4 of decision 1/CP.19.”
He added: “We welcome the ‘Talanoa Dialogue’ and seek your guidance and direction as we proceed in the spirit of collaboration and trust in line with the Paris Agreement. This will lead us collectively to a common ground for a successful 2018 facilitative dialogue. Nigeria also shares the same circumstance and views with African member states in terms of NDC implementation capacities.
“We are not in any way proposing to re-open the land mark Agreement but we support the call from the African member States that the best way to proceed is to show a demonstration of flexibility for African countries on climate change actions based on the principles and provisions of the convention and to ensure that differentiation is clearly reflected.”
Director General, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Dr Lawrence Chidi Anukam, representing Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Usman Jibril, at the launch of the Africa Platform for Circular Economy. He is flanked by partners from South Africa, Rwanda and the Global Environment Facility (GEF)Mrs Henrietta Alhassan of the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) with Benoît Bosquet of the World Bank at a Work Bank side-eventMinister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Usman Jibril, and Nigeria’s Ambassador to Germany, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, working together to ensure the country’s successful participation a the COP23 high level segmentDirector, Department of Climate Change, Dr Peter Tarfa, at the Climate Finance Accelerator (CFA) side-event at the UK Pavilion. This is a follow-up to the CFA workshop held in London on September 11, 2017 organised in partnership with UK governmentCommissioner for Climate Change and Forestry, Cross River State, Dr. Alice Ekwu, calls for support for the state to scale up efforts towards REDD+ implementation
President Mamadou Isoufou of Niger; Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Usman Jibril; and Nigeria’s Ambassador to Germany, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, at the opening of of the COP23 High Level SegmentDean, Faculty of Environmental Sciences and HOD, Department of Geography, Nasarawa State University, Prof. Nasiru Idris (left), with Vice Chancellor, Nasarawa State University, Professor Muhammad Akaro Mainoma, at a side-eventNigeria, Ghana and Uganda launched National REDD+ Strategies and show strong leadership to promote REDD+ in line with the Paris Agreement. Here, Nigeria representatives, including National REDD+ Coordinator, Dr Moses Ama, highlight successes, learning points, and steps forward for the REDD+ Programme
In an innovative push to better drive its development projects in the continent, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) is looking forward to launching the Africa Environment Partnership Platform in May 2018.
Estherine Fotabong, NEPAD Director of Programmes Implementation and Coordination
The platform, NEPAD officials say, will serve as a coordinating organ to help galvanise resource mobilisation efforts and for pursuing resource mobilisation strategies, approaches to support the implementation of environmental initiatives, particularly those identified in the Environment Action Plan.
“We have great initiatives on land degradation, like the great green wall, Grow Africa Programme, Africa Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA), so we hope this platform will be able to help us better coordinate these different activities,”
In an innovative push to better drive its development projects in the continent, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) is looking forward to launching the Africa Environment Partnership Platform in May 2018.
The platform, NEPAD officials say, will serve as a coordinating organ to help galvanise resource mobilisation efforts and for pursuing resource mobilisation strategies, approaches to support the implementation of environmental initiatives, particularly those identified in the Environment Action Plan.
“We have great initiatives on land degradation, like the great green wall, Grow Africa Programme, Africa Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA), so we hope this platform will be able to help us better coordinate these different activities,” Estherine Fotabong, NEPAD Director of Programmes implementation and coordination, said in an interview with PAMACC at COP23 in Bonn,Germany.
The Environment Partnership Platform, according to a concept note from NEPAD, is in response to a request from the African Union Summit which mandated African Ministerial Conference on Environment (AMCEN) to conduct a substantive analysis of the outcomes of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio +20) Summit and develop a roadmap for the effective implementation of the outcomes in Africa.
“The platform will coordinate, mobilise resources, foster knowledge and align support for the implementation of the Environment Action Plan,” the concept note stated. Additionally, the 14th Session of AMCEN of September 2012, decided to develop and implement Regional Flagship Programmes (RFPs) as a means to ensure the effective implementation of the outcomes of the Rio +20 Summit.
The platform will seek to deliver a paradigm shift in addressing environmental degradation in Africa, in both public and private sectors and to develop innovative models. It will also engender the prerequisite political support, needed institutional structures and adequate human capacity at national and regional levels to ensure integrated environmental management.
The environment, though a cross cutting, will remain distinct and adequately harmonised with other sectors and priorities like agriculture, infrastructure and energy. Climate related risks will increasingly be mainstreamed into development and adaptation actions that will be carried out in priority regions and sectors to meet the need of especially vulnerable rural populations in Africa, according to NEPAD.
The rural populations of Africa are heavily dependent on natural resources for livelihoods with the ecosystem providing food, medicine, energy and construction materials, thus the need to better coordinate project activities geared at guaranteeing food security.
“Food security for Africa is not only derived from agriculture but also from natural resources and the ecosystems,” Fotabong points out. The platform is in response to a strong imperative to adopt a multi-sectoral approach to programme designing and implementation and strengthen the necessary synergies and improve coordination at various levels.
To achieve this, a country-driven and regionally-integrated Initiative that will provide the tools for action and platform for partnerships that will deliver results has become imperative.
Coordinated by NEPAD, the initiative will be fully aligned with and be an integral part of the CAADP framework, as well as cultivating the necessary multi-sectoral engagements, including the environment, natural resources and climate change policies and programmes.
“To support countries, a virtual and physical African Alliance was established where knowledge is exchanged to identify best practice and partnerships across stakeholder groups are catalysed,” she said.
Accordingly,the platform will also foster a coherent African development Agenda as well as sustaining the collective power and urge for action. It will also facilitate assessment of individual (country, region, sector, etc.) performance against continental and even global benchmarks. Fotabong says they hope to get many development partners align in support of the new programme that will also serve as a collaborative platform to identify innovative sources of financing.
“We are also looking forward to the alignment of development partners to support these programmes” Building partnerships is a critical success factor for the sustenance of the platform given the multiplicity of actors and its ability to deliver on the mandate assigned to it by AMCEN. The platform will therefore create an avenue for constructive dialogue, especially as Africa could benefit from the experience of countries across the world that have achieved considerable environmental sustainability.
Even as the Donald Trump Administration in the US tries to eliminate government programmes and policies to address climate change, a recent national survey by the George Mason University’s Centre for Climate Change Communication finds that the number of Americans “very worried” about global warming has reached a record high (22%) since first measured in 2008. A majority of Americans (63%) say they are “very” or “somewhat” worried about the issue.
Donald Trump, US president
Likewise, Americans increasingly view global warming as a threat. Since Spring 2015, more Americans think it will harm them personally (50%, +14 points), their own family (54%, +13 points), people in the U.S. (67%, +18 points), people in developing countries (71%, +18 points), and future generations (75%, +12 points).
Other key findings include:
Seven in 10 Americans (71%) think global warming is happening, an increase of 8 percentage points since March 2015. By contrast, only about one in eight Americans (13%) think global warming is not happening. Americans who think global warming is happening outnumber those who think it is not by more than five to one.
Nearly two in three Americans (64%) think global warming is affecting weather in the United States, and one in three think weather is being affected “a lot” (33%), an increase of 8 percentage points since May 2017.
A majority of Americans think global warming made several extreme events in 2017 worse, including the heat waves in California (55%) and Arizona (51%), hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria (54%), and wildfires in the western US (52%).
More than four in 10 Americans (44%) say they have personally experienced the effects of global warming, an increase of 13 percentage points since March 2015.
Four in 10 Americans (42%) think people in the United States are being harmed by global warming “right now”, an increase of 10 percentage points since March 2015.
The report also finds more Americans saying global warming is personally important to them and that they discuss the issue more often with their friends and families.
