BONN, Germany (PAMACC News) - African and Small Island Developing countries made their presence readily felt at the ongoing climate talks in Bonn-Germany. Observers, civil society actors, researchers and negotiators from these countries all at different instances underlined the need for the 10-day international conference to advance substantive progress on the rules and processes that will fully drive operational the Paris Agreement.
According to experts, the sessions mark the half-way point to the finalization of the Paris Agreement that will be decided at COP 23 in Bonn.
“This climate session is very important for Africa and Small Island developing countries, reason why they are taking active part in setting the rules,” says Augustine Njamnshi of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance, PACJA.
They have also been taking active part in the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) and the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement (APA) different sessions in Bonn on the “Rule Book”.
According to these experts the focus of the Bonn Climate Change Talks is to further the implementation of the Paris Agreement by drafting the so-called “rulebook” to guide its implementation.
Application of the ‘rulebook’ will require decisions on the transparency reporting guidelines, accounting, cooperative approaches of both market and non-market natures, nationally determined contributions (NDCs), and their means of implementation which include the provision and reporting of finance provided and received, technology development and transfer and capacity building.
The standing issues on the SBSTA and SBI agendas are also being considered which include issues related to adaptation, mitigation, agriculture, land use change and forestry and response measures.
Multiple side events were also organized by different organizations to showcase collaboration as part of a consortium to provide advice on the development of the transparency framework under the Paris Agreement.
The Bonn Climate Change Talks which commenced on Monday 8 May and will conclude on Thursday 18 May. The talks are expected to set the stage for the 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP 23) which will be convened in Bonn in November.
COP 23 will be held under the Presidency of Fiji and will mark the first occasion in which a Small Island Developing State (SIDS) holds the Presidency of the COP.
BONN, Germany (PAMACC News) - The United Nations seeks to involve young professionals from developing countries in implementation of the Paris Climate Change Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) through a new fellowship programme run by two key UN agencies based in Bonn, Germany.
According to a press statement released in Bonn on 15th May, the fellowship initiative will offer work experience in a vibrant international policy environment at the UN Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC).
“Young, qualified professionals from developing countries represent one of our best resources for building capacity for climate action,” said Patricia Espinosa, the UNFCCC Executive Secretary.
“As we move with determination into the new era of implementation of the Paris Agreement, we need to equip young people with the skills to green economies and build resilience, and this initiative is an example of how organisations can prepare young people for the challenges of the future,” she said
The United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) will help identify and recruit the young professionals, and provide them with an exciting research environment.
Upon completion of the scheme, the “Early Career Climate Fellows” will be able to work in their home countries or internationally, deploying the valuable experience and insights they have gained in Bonn.
“We will also be building their skills so they can better secure employment in the work-place. Many of the young people we will be supporting need real-life experience to get on the job ladder. What we are doing is also a living example of Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) under Article 6 of the original Convention. It ranges from education to training in respect to climate change: So we are securing a great, dynamic human resource and giving back with a positive, empowering experience in partnership with UNU,” said Espinosa.
Professor Dr. Jakob Rhyner, Director of UNU-EHS, said: “There are 1.8 billion young people in the world today, more than ever before in human history, and about nine out of ten live in developing countries. Efforts for sustainable development and climate protection must build on their enthusiasm and ideas. The UNFCCC-UNU-EHS Early Career Climate Fellowship Initiative offers young people from developing countries a unique possibility to start their career at the interface between international climate policy development and research.”
Academically outstanding young graduates from developing countries who are less than three years into their careers, especially women from least developed countries, are encouraged to apply.
Fellowships may last from six months to two years and the work experience with the UNFCCC will be tailored to fit the specific skills and backgrounds of each fellow.
The collaboration will get underway following the UN Climate Change Conference, which runs to 18 May.
BONN, Germany (PAMACC News) - The United Nations seeks to involve young professionals from developing countries in implementation of the Paris Climate Change Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) through a new fellowship programme run by two key UN agencies based in Bonn, Germany.
According to a press statement released in Bonn on 15th May, the fellowship initiative will offer work experience in a vibrant international policy environment at the UN Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC).
“Young, qualified professionals from developing countries represent one of our best resources for building capacity for climate action,” said Patricia Espinosa, the UNFCCC Executive Secretary.
“As we move with determination into the new era of implementation of the Paris Agreement, we need to equip young people with the skills to green economies and build resilience, and this initiative is an example of how organisations can prepare young people for the challenges of the future,” she said
The United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) will help identify and recruit the young professionals, and provide them with an exciting research environment.
Upon completion of the scheme, the “Early Career Climate Fellows” will be able to work in their home countries or internationally, deploying the valuable experience and insights they have gained in Bonn.
“We will also be building their skills so they can better secure employment in the work-place. Many of the young people we will be supporting need real-life experience to get on the job ladder. What we are doing is also a living example of Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) under Article 6 of the original Convention. It ranges from education to training in respect to climate change: So we are securing a great, dynamic human resource and giving back with a positive, empowering experience in partnership with UNU,” said Espinosa.
Professor Dr. Jakob Rhyner, Director of UNU-EHS, said: “There are 1.8 billion young people in the world today, more than ever before in human history, and about nine out of ten live in developing countries. Efforts for sustainable development and climate protection must build on their enthusiasm and ideas. The UNFCCC-UNU-EHS Early Career Climate Fellowship Initiative offers young people from developing countries a unique possibility to start their career at the interface between international climate policy development and research.”
Academically outstanding young graduates from developing countries who are less than three years into their careers, especially women from least developed countries, are encouraged to apply.
Fellowships may last from six months to two years and the work experience with the UNFCCC will be tailored to fit the specific skills and backgrounds of each fellow.
The collaboration will get underway following the UN Climate Change Conference, which runs to 18 May.
BONN, Germany (PAMACC News) - Multilateral Development Banks and other financing institution have been urged to boost climate finance in support of new international agreement and sustainable development pathways especially in Africa in line with the COP 21 Paris Agreement;
The call was made at climate discussions in Bonn May 13, 2017, on how Multilateral Development Banks can mobilize and deploy climate finance in developing countries to permit them carryout the different projects outlined in their NDCs.
According to Dr Stephen Singer, CAN International, multilateral banks have crucial parts to play in achieving the goals set out in the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.
“Delivering on the Paris Agreement is all about radical economic transformation and fostering sustainable, low-carbon and strong growth. Economic policy and finance, and this multilateral banks and finance ministries, will be at the core,” he said.
Experts called for a strong partnership between multilateral banks and the provide sector to be able to stand the challenges of growing urbanization and emerging markets.
“What these financial institutions do over the next two decades will determine whether we succeed or fail to deliver this global agenda.
During that time, the size of the world’s economy is likely to double, and the amount of infrastructure will probably increase by a still larger factor, with strong urbanization and growth in developing and emerging market countries,” noted Peter Bett of the Department of Business, Energy and industrial Strategy, Robert Moore UK.
According to conference participants,investments in sustainable infrastructure will not only help us to realize the goals of the Paris Agreement but will also allow the different countries meet up with the challenges to reach the Sustainable Development Goals.
Gareth Philips, of the African Development Bank Group pointed out that the world is set to invest aboutUS$90 trillion in infrastructure over the next 15 years. That means spending will increase from about US$3.4 trillion per year to about US$6 trillion with most of this investment located in developing and emerging market countries.
“If this infrastructure is not sustainable, and instead locks in high-carbon activities, the world will lose its chance of meeting the Paris Agreement goal of holding the rise in global mean surface temperature to well below 2 Celsius degrees above its level in the middle of the 19th century,” he said.
Sustainable infrastructure is not only low-carbon but it is also climate-resilient. It must be able to cope with the current climate and with those impacts of climate change that we cannot now avoid. And it is clean, efficient and smart.
All new infrastructure, including for energy, transport, water and communications, must be sustainable, as was emphasised by the report on ‘The Sustainable Infrastructure Imperative’ by the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate in October. This is particularly true for cities and towns, which already host the majority of the world’s population.
Urbanisation is taking place at a remarkable speed. Only sustainable infrastructure can help to reduce pollution, waste and congestion, and ensure that we can live and breathe in our cities. If we get the infrastructure right, we will have resilient and inclusive towns and cities
where poor people have a chance to raise their living standards and escape from poverty. And those in rural areas will see new opportunities to move, and more will be able to access, energy, transport and water supplies.
Participants agreed that the ‘nationally determined contributions’ to the Paris Agreement can help each country to have sustainable and inclusive growth and to reduce poverty. But noted that building low-carbon and climate-resilient infrastructure will drive growth, and will allow countries tackle together economic development, and climate change mitigation and adaptation, the two being intimately intertwined in both urban and rural areas.
“ Success in financing climate resilience projects will create huge economic opportunities. But there are also great dangers in delay and severe risks of locking in unsustainable infrastructure, said Said Chakri of the Moroccan NDA secretariat to GCF.
“The urgent need to invest in sustainable infrastructure is a central issue for both finance ministries and for the national and regional development banks,” he added.
Experts noted that finance ministries should be concerned with growth, investment, policy and resources because only credible policies will raise finance, through both direct revenue and economic growth itself.
Mithika Mwenda of PACJA raised the issue of the absence of pre-prior consents of local communities that have never been respected by investors, citing the case of Congo Basin in Africa.
“The question is whether this is going to affect financing of projects in these areas or not. Most of these investments are profit driven but there is need to balance investments and climate change challenges,” Mithika said.
This entails the need for consistency, clarity and credibility, creating an environment that is conducive for both investors and the indigenous communities, he added.
