By Aaron yancho kaah in Addis Ababa
In
December 2015, Paris will host the 21st conference of parties, the
biggest UN sponsored international event
to be hosted by that country for decades. (195 countries and
40.000delegates) . The French government
has already unveiled the conference logo
which was enugurated by the
french foreign minister Laurent Fabius a month ago in Paris.
Six years after the UN talks failed to yeild any friuts in Copenhagen, the Paris
summit is expeted to strike a workable deal that will start from 2020 to 2035
under the new climate policy agreement. The French authourities are now
drumming up support for a globally,
universally and ambitious agreement
which will reduce or maintain the 2°C.
Speaking in Addis-Ababa on the forum:
Road to Paris' What kind of Agreement do we Need?. The French minister for
state in charge of development and the francophony Ms. Annick Girardin said any
temperature rise to above 2°C could lead
to uncontrollable climate changes.
The French diplomat explained
that the -climate was a major
geopolitical issue very much attched to
peace and security as well as justice , equity and development.
Ms.Annick averred that development
andclimate changes were major
development issues for countries of the
south. "The poorest countries are
the most affected"..she said. The diplomat went further to quote the IPCC report that profiled how
Ethiopia was threaten by floods and
rising temperatures that hampered the coffe production sector as a result of
the proliferation of parasites. "These impacts were a danger to
humanity". She intimidated. Ms Annick received standing ovations when she said. 'We the rich have poluted to
develop..We as Africa have the right to do same'.she lamented that if the poor countries developed using
the same models as the rich, the world
would fine it extremely hard to combat the effects of the climate changes.
"Please we must seek alternative development models" .she said. The
French lady called for a proper
utilization of natural resources mangement
projects so as to prevent emmissions and diseases across the African
continent.
The
ETHIOPIAN MODEL
The
french diplomat applauded the Ethiopian
govt or its pro-active projects
aimed at dealing with the climate changes. After visiting these projdcts the French lady thought it wise to
lebel these projects as the most
ambitious on the continent that led to contineous economic growth without increasing emissions. Over the years the Ethiopians govt had also
developed renewable energy resources considered the largest wind farms
and the a good fight against deforestation according to Annick . "This is
a sign of an Africa that is getting
mobilized"..she continued. The climate change programs of the Horn of
Africa Regional Environment center and Network had also increased the adptive
capacity of most vulnerable communities in Ethiopia to the shocks of the climate changes and to
mitigate its impacts.By promoting sustainable
and participatory interventions
and in investing in research the
initiative improved livelihoods and food
security across Ethiopia and has enhanced
environmental conservation according to Dr- Araya Asfaw executive
director of the Horn of Africa Regional Environment Center & Network.
THE
ISSUE AT STAKES IN 2015 PARIS SUMMIT.
The French diplomat echoed that the erreurs of Copenhagen were to be avoided
if the paris summit was any thing to ride homeabout. She said a new legal binding document was in prospect to replace the Kyoto protocol in a bid to make
things work for all the parties involve.
She went further to under line committments from all the countries as a must demand and a reasonable financial package forthe poor countries to aid them adapt in the new development models and projects.
Ms. Annick told the participants lound and clear that concrete
committments from within the none state
actors like the NGO's and the Civil society Organizations was a spice
to stir the Paris summit to greater momentum.
However
acknowledging that the Road toParis
had so many stages , the French lady
stated that the positionof the French govt and its people was clear. "Each
and every one of you should take this raod...at each cross raod we should make
the right choices" .she concluded.
Nonetheless securing a common standing
position between the 195 countries will be not piece of cake to swallow come
December 2015. The conflict of interest has been and will be and china for
example will be no easy task to lobby. On the heels of all of these never
ending trouble climate talks, France must read the signs of the time to save
the credibility of thr UN by lobbying
member states to find lasting solutions
to these crisis and to bestowing some pride on its name as a country
with a strong environmental track record in the eyes of the international
community.
End*******
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