En marge de la 22ème conférence des Nations les acteurs du secteur des énergies renouvelables se sont réunis le lundi 7 novembre 2016 au Pavillon Afrique de la COP22 et ont échangé sur les avancées en la matière
 
La conférence qui a eu lieu ce lundi 7 novembre 2016 dans le Pavillon Afrique en marge de la COP 22, a réuni plusieurs acteurs locaux et internationaux du secteur des énergies renouvelables afin d’échanger sur leur problématique commune. « Nous avons noté une avancée considérable ces dernières années dans le domaine, mais celles-ci sont disparates selon les régions. Aujourd’hui, 21 % de l’électricité sur le continent est produite par les énergies renouvelables et cela progresse », a lancé d’emblée Amine Homman Ludiye, directeur pour la région Afrique du Nord de l’entreprise Engie,
 
Pour étayer ses propos il a rajouté que le Maroc avait connu une croissance fulgurante ces dernières années, dû à une expertise accumulée. Et de rajouter que le pays avait débuté sa mutation énergétique depuis plusieurs années, lui conférant le statut de modèle en la matière. Un modèle à dupliquer pour partager son savoir faire aux autres pays africains.
 
Début octobre 2016, la Banque africaine de développement (BAD) recommandait au Maroc de mettre le cap sur les microcentrales, selon un communiqué de l’organisation panafricaine. « Au-delà des grands complexes industriels solaires, éoliens et hydrauliques destinés aux besoins en électricité du pays, la construction des microcentrales +constitue une option intéressante+, essentiellement pour l'approvisionnement des zones rurales éloignées », note la BAD dans un récent rapport dédié au secteur en Afrique du Nord, intitulé Le secteur des énergies renouvelables et l’emploi des jeunes au Maghreb.
 
Le Maroc produit environ 6135 MW d'énergie par an, une production qui se répartit comme suit : 4 166 MW par des centrales électriques classiques (68,4%) ; 1 748 MW d'énergie hydraulique (28 %) et 222 MW d'énergie éolienne (3,6 %).
Réponse : 68,4%
 
« Nous sommes sur le bon chemin. Il est important maintenant de réunir nos connaissances communes, et se concentrer davantage sur les petits projets et changer notre point de vue sur l’efficience de projets moindres mais qui nous permettre d’apprendre davantage sur des process à élargir pour les appliquer sur des projets plus importants », a constaté Andreas Gunst, spécialiste en Energie et projet d’électricité à DLA Piper Global Law Firm.
 
Mais tout le monde n’est pas toujours d’accord sur cette approche, puisque la volonté politique manque très souvent et que l’argent n’est pas toujours la solution à la résolution des problèmes climatiques que rencontre la planète.
 
« Nous savons que cela sera très difficile que tous les pays soient spontanément au même niveau de progression au niveau des énergies renouvelables et aujourd’hui au lieu de parler pourcentage, il faudrait parler des chantiers majeurs à traiter. L’énergie est fondamentale dans notre quotidien, et nous devons convaincre les politiciens d’obtenir les financements dont nous avons besoin », a suggéré Gareth Phillips, spécialiste en chef du changement climatique et de la croissance verte à la Banque africaine de développement (BAD).  
 
« Tout n’est pas qu’une question d’argent. Il faut identifier les sources, les ressources, et l’environnement, s’il est stable ou changeant, a réagi Rachel Child, directrice pour la Qualification à Camco Clean Energy. Les moyens techniques sont immenses, les finances sont à trouver et il y a des moyens pour y accéder. Nous n’avons pas une ligne directrice et nous nous tournons vers les agences de développement. Or, la question fondamentale à se poser c’est : pour quel projet nous souhaitons investir et quelles sont les conséquences à court et moyen terme ? ».

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (PAMACC News) - Human migration from one place to another due to different reasons has been linked to destruction of ecosystems as the migrants struggle to settle in the new areas, thus impacting on the prevailing climatic conditions.

Addressing the sixth Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA-VI), Prof Araya Asfaw of the Horn of Africa Regional Environment Centre in Ethiopia observed that migrants end up clearing forest cover to create space for settlement, destroy wetlands and in some cases destroy natural habitats for wildlife.

“When people move, they deforest, and they destroy wetlands,” said Prof Asfaw, noting that most of the migration activities happen in the Horn of Africa region.

Trees are generally known to sequester carbon dioxide, which is the main driver for global warming. And when tree cover is cleared to create space for human settlement, experts say that it directly impacts on the climate.

There is evidence that forced migration is a serious, protracted, and in some areas, an expanding problem across Africa, particularly south of the Sahara.

According to the United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA), conflicts and insecurity are major causes or drivers of forced migration in Africa. Across the continent, in Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, Mali, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan, OSAA notes that including violent conflict and insecurity have resulted in forced displacement, both within and across borders, with dire consequences for vulnerable populations, including women, children, the aged and disabled.

A detailed study titled ‘Global Trends’, which tracks forced displacement worldwide based on data from governments, partner agencies and UNHCR’s own reporting, found a total 65.3 million people were displaced at the end of 2015, compared to 59.5 million just 12 months earlier.

This, according to experts, has highly contributed to distortion of the ecosystem, hence, impacting on climate change. This trend is expected to continue as conflicts continue to sour in many parts of the world.

The experts therefore called for integrated policies that can help address such issues.

Apart from forced migration, Prof Asfaw also pointed out that due to the increasing population and search for better livelihoods, there has been increased rural urban migration in the recent past, a trend that is also expected to increase in the near future.

So far, noted Prof Asfew, Ethiopia’s is an example whose population has been increasing steadily, and it has grown four folds in the past decade, putting more pressure on urban centres.

A study by Jukka Heinonen of Aalto University School of Engineering points out that the per capita emissions related to city Sustainability lifestyle are substantially higher than those related to rural and semi-urban lifestyles in the Finnish context.

Other people argue that urban dwellers often use vehicles for commuting shorter distances compared to rural dwellers, hence emitting more carbon into the atmosphere. Urban dwellers as well use coolers such as refrigerators, which emit hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).

HFCs, also known as "super greenhouse gases," are known to be the most potent greenhouse gases because the combined effect of their soaring use and high global warming potential could undercut the benefits expected from the reduction of other greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. Experts say that HFCs are 3,830 times more potent than CO2 with a lifetime of 14 years.

Though the world is currently negotiating the phase-down of the HFCs, it remains a huge concern because the phase-down is likely going to take some years, while the world population and the need to use cooling systems continue to increase.

“We expect most of the African population to urbanize, and this is going to have an impact on climate change,” said Ibrahim Ceesay, the Chairperson of the Africa Youth Alliance on Sustainable Development, noting that most of the people who move to urban areas are the youth.

The experts therefore noted that human migration is an important subject to be considered at all levels of climate discourse.

PAMACC News Agency

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (PAMACC News) - 'Never to have any dealings with human beings, never to engage in trade, never to make use of money’ – is one of the famous extract defining the principle of Animalism in George Orwell’s Fable, Animal Farm. While it has over the years associated with political hypocrisy, there seems to be some positive lessons especially for Africa’s 2063 Agenda in relation to challenges that climate change poses to the continent, and the role of young people to achieve it.

Whilst Africa at present contributes less than 5% of global carbon emissions, it bears the brunt of the impact of climate change. Poverty, migration, disease and economic malaise characterise the continent and climate change is worsening these conditions. In its number one aspiration for Agenda 2063, Africa wants to see inclusive growth and sustainable development.

And to achieve this goal, the continent has prioritized climate adaptation in all actions, drawing upon skills of diverse disciplines with adequate support (affordable technology development and transfer, capacity building, financial and technical resources) to ensure implementation of actions for the survival of the most vulnerable populations, including islands states, and for sustainable development and shared prosperity.

However, Mithika Mwenda, Secretary General of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), believes the achievement of the 2063 dream requires some kind of a rebellion, just like the Animals rebelled against the tyranny of Man in ‘Animal Farm.’

“Agenda 2063 is like animal farm, it is a rebellion against climate change, against poverty, against all kinds of suffering and economic malaise, just like the animals rebelled against man’s tyranny,” said Mwenda during a panel discussion at the Sixth Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA VI), currently holding in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

To avoid being misunderstood because of the negative connotation that ‘Animal Farm’ is associated with, Mwenda was quick to explain his rebellion comments:

“It must be understood that the rebellion I am referring to is symbolic, the animals that fought for ‘Animalism’ did not live to see it to fruition but the younger generation. The implementation of the agenda 2063 is about the young people, it is a long term project, and will only be implemented by the younger ones who should now be given the mantle to lead these processes,” added the PACJA chief.

With a seven-point plan, Agenda 2063 is a 50-year strategic blueprint which is both a vision and an action plan that calls for action to all segments of African society to work together to build a prosperous and united Africa based on shared values and a common destiny.

But with Africa’s young people largely neglected in development processes, there is a danger that the continent’s aspirations as enshrined in the 2063 Agenda could be in jeopardy.

James Murombedzi, Officer in Charge of the Africa Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, believes time for action is now, and wants to see the younger generation use their energy to call for action.

“I would rather not use the metaphor of animal farm, the metaphor of rebellion, but what I think should happen is that there is a serious urgency to climate action, and what I want to see is young people use the energy to call for action now, it is not a challenge for the future it is for now,” said Murombedzi.

He cited the 1.5 degrees debate as one issue that requires urgency. “You see, already the 1.5 degrees debate is being pushed further as if to wait until we get there before action is taken, and yet this is an urgent matter and I think young people must come in to demand action now,” the ACPC chief added.

Interestingly, the youths are fired up but they have reservations regarding their involvement in the continent’s development agenda.

“The youth are the future of Africa, all the development agendas being developed should be anchored on young people. But in terms of leadership mantle transition, we are still lugging behind because our leaders don’t trust young people, they see them as a threat, they see young people as naïve…but we will rise and fight for climate justice and ensure that 2063 is a reality,” said Ibrahim Cessay of the Africa Youth Initiative on Climate Change (AYICC), a network of African youth organizations and individuals working on climate change & sustainable development.

And Abel Musumali of the ClimDev Youth Platform agrees with Cessay on the need to engage young people saying “climate change is about both short and long term planning, under for Agenda 2063 to be achieved, we should be involved now in solving the climate change problem which has a bearing on our future, otherwise, we are doomed.”

Agenda 2063 heralds Africa’s dream for development in the next 50 years. And Dr. Seth Osafo, former legal advisor at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat, would like to see investments in scientific research especially for young scientists.

“We need to develop young people’s expertise at the highest level to contribute positively in their country processes. There are already some experts in all the other areas but we need a lot of research scientists, and I look forward to having a programme soon that could be mentoring young scientists for Africa to be much involved in the climate scientific governance framework considering that climate change threatens to hinder Africa’s aspirations as enshrined in the Agenda 2063,” concludes Osafo.

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (PAMACC News) - “The Paris Agreement is somewhat weak in terms of how African countries will attract the required investments to deal with the challenges of climate change…,”says James Murombedzi, Officer in Charge of the Africa Climate Policy Centre of the United Nations economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

While heralded as a landmark global deal on climate change, there remains a feeling of impotence from the Africa group on certain nuances of the Agreement and its implications to the continent’s development agenda.

However, signing and ratifying the Agreement is not optional for Parties as it was universally agreed by the then 196 members to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change—UNFCCC, in Paris last year.

This therefore implies that whatever issues Africa has with the Agreement and its implications, would have to be dealt with at the negotiating table, and this is the point at which the Young African Lawyers (YAL) Programme becomes crucial.

Established under the ClimDev-Africa Programme, YAL has the overarching goal of strengthening Africa’s negotiating position and ensuring Africa gets the best at the UNFCCC processes.
 
“Signing and ratifying the Agreement is not optional for us as Africa,” says Natasha Banda, a young Legal Practitioner from Zambia, one of the mentees under the programme.
 
Being part of the legal advisory team for the Zambian negotiators through the UNFCCC country Focal point person, Banda believes ratifying the Agreement is not negotiable and the starting point “because the nature of international Agreements is that you cannot have bargaining power from outside,” and is certain that Zambia, which is yet to ratify, would do so once all necessary processes are complete.
 
In recognition of the importance of addressing the impacts of climate change comprehensively, and the unique roles and responsibilities of lawyers in the process, the Young African Lawyers (YAL) programme brings together young and motivated African lawyers in integrating climate change responses into Africa’s development agenda.
 
According to Dr. Johnson Nkem, Senior Climate Adaptation Expert with the Africa Climate Policy Centre, and Coordinator of the programme, YAL is a crucial component for Africa’s climate governance framework, especially now that the world is moving towards a greener, cleaner future, as espoused in the Paris Agreement.
 
“While providing essential legal support to the AGN, the YAL programme is an important foundation for developing a cadre of African lawyers who are fully engaged in wider climate change issues. Legal advice on low-carbon trading transactions, for example, or integrating climate change into Environmental Impact Assessments are going to be increasingly important as the world heads towards a greener, cleaner future. As Africa anchors itself firmly in this global transition, the YAL programme aims to nurture the legal skills that will be integral to this process,” Nkem explains.

As well as the immediate benefits of providing legal support at the climate negotiations, YAL has the longer-term goal of building the expertise of young lawyers, to be applied in broader aspects of climate change policy and law.
 
And Rachael Rwomushana, a Ugandan Lawyer, testifies to the positive impact that the programme has had on her and on the country’s engagement in the UNFCCC processes.
 
Uganda is one of the African countries that has ratified the Paris Agreement, and Rwomushana believes she played a positive role as a young lawyer working in the office of the Attorney General.
 
“Being involved in the this programme has enabled me to better understand the process and the guidance that I can give to my country and the African Group of Negotiators in the process,” she says, stressing that African countries should not look back on the Paris Agreement but work to strengthen their climate governance so that they get the best out of it.
 
Under the guidance of two seasoned lawyers experienced in Multilateral Environmental Agreements such as Dr. Seth Osafo, former senior legal adviser of the UNFCCC Secretariat, and Matthew Stilwell, a climate change expert and legal adviser to the African Group of Negotiators, the YAL programme could be Africa’s hope for better climate governance engagement in the years to come.

With the availability of additional resources and support, the programme plans to expand to other interested participants and legal institutions across Africa in developing the knowledge-base of legal experts on climate change issues.