Preparing the next generation for climate change negotiations

By Isaiah Esipisu

Some of the lawyers participating in the YAL programme

PARIS France (PAMACC News) – Political leaders, civil society organisations and scientists at the ongoing climate change negotiations in Paris have lauded the Young African Lawyers (YAL) programme on climate change initiative, saying that the young experts hold the key to the future climate governance.

“When we invest in protecting the climate, we are investing in the future, and therefore it is important to invest in young African lawyers so that they can take over from the current negotiators,” said Mithika Mwenda, the Secretary General for Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA).

Africa’s contribution towards Mitigating global Emissions

By Sophie Mbugua

A section of a geothermal power plant in Kenya

PARIS, France (PAMACC News) - African heads of state announced plans for a gigantic renewable energy initiative that would provide as much as 300gigawatts of renewable energy – twice the continent’s total current electricity supply – by 2030.

African Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI) driven by African countries announced at the start of the two-week United Nations climate negotiations in Paris, aims to achieve 10gigawatts of new renewable energy by 2020 and mobilize the potential to generate 300gigawatts by 2030.

Kenyan County government sign a water deal with the World Bank Group

By Protus Onyango

PARIS, France (PAMACC News) - Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho has signed a 200 million USD loan agreement with the World Bank that will guarantee water for Kenya’s urban areas.

Joho who signed the pact on behalf of the Council of Governors (COG) at the ongoing climate conference in Paris, France lauded the initiative, terming it a solution to the country’s persistent water problems.

African’s Gov’t share stakes on Lake Chad at COP21

By Elias Ntungwe Ngalame

PARIS, France (PAMACC News) - African governments especially those of the Lake Chad Basin region want to secure the future of the precious but dwindling water body.

The officials and experts have expressed the need for adaptation actions as a priority to save the Lake and the lives of the over 20 million people living in the area.

Members of the Lake Chad Basin Commission at the presentation of a new plan of action to revive the lake at COP21 in Paris, December 2, 2015 said the local economy of the people in the region depended on the lake activities like fishing, agriculture and pastoralism going on in the upper catchment of the lake.

Leaders call for a legally binding deal at Paris COP21

By Isaiah Esipisu

African leaders at COP21 in Paris

PARIS, France (PAMACC News) – Political leaders, the civil society organisations and religious leaders from Africa have told the team of negotiators at the ongoing Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP21) in Paris that the only agreeable outcome must be legally binding, and one that offers solutions to African needs.

“Agriculture is central to Africa’s development, yet it is one of the most vulnerable sectors to the impacts of climate change and it is also a sector that has huge potential for international trade,” said Carlos Lopes, the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

AfDB Pledge affirmative climate finance action to boost agriculture business for women

By Elias Ntungwe Ngalame

“It is amazing that many women in Africa continue to use hoes to till the soil in their small scale farms in communities in Africa in this age of technological advancement,” wondered Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma as she addresses officials at the launch of the African Renewable Energy Initiative at COP21 in Paris, France.

“We are calling on the President of the African Development Bank to ensure that funding for the purchase of such archaic working tools for women becomes history,’’ Zuma pleaded.

New finance package to Tackle Urgent Climate Challenges Unveiled

By Sophie Mbugua

As nations of the world gathered on Monday in Paris to reach a new and universal climate change agreement, Germany, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland has announced a new $500 million initiative that will find new ways to create incentives aimed at large scale cuts in greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries to combat climate change.

The initiative developed through the World Bank Group will measure and pay for emission cuts in large scale programs in renewable energy, transport, energy efficiency, solid waste management, and low carbon cities.