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| Tanzanian VP Mohammed Gharib Bilal |
BARELY three months remaining to the
Paris UN climate summit, Africa still has a number of challenges to address to
galvanise itself and remain a force to reckon with at the negotiations.
And every effort is being made to
ensure that the outcome of the meeting benefits Africans.
One way of ensuring that is the
hosting of the Africa Climate Talks (ACTs) taking place in Dar es Salaam by the
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).
The meeting is aimed at discussing
the impacts and implications of climate change in Africa and the effective
solutions.
The conference is a clear signal
that Africa is ready to shift from being just a mere spectator at COP meetings
to a key player and this will be seen at the meeting in Paris.
And Tanzanian Vice president
Mohammed Gharib Bilal who opened the gathering warned delegates to ensure the
outcome of Paris meeting benefits Africa as opposed to the current Kyoto which
has not impacted positively on the continent.
The vice president is of the view
that a common goal and standing among the negotiators contributes greatly to
the likely outcome of the meeting.
He adds that “Africa’s stakes are
high; it bears the greatest proportion of risks and impacts posed by climate
change which incidentally is disproportionate to its share of responsibility
for global warming.”
This is his call for all negotiators
to ensure they speak with one voice all the time and avoid being swerved by the
industrialised nations.
Observations show that the
international negotiations to tackle this problem have been embraced by Africa
even where there should be reservations.
The African continent is the only
global region with the greatest proportion of people living below USD2 a day
that imposes a cap to consumption opportunities.
The ACTs meeting under a theme “The
Promise of Paris” seeks to crystalise an umbrella conceptual framing of
Africa’s role in the global governance of climate change.
The vice president advised delegates
to ensure the preparations and vision are crafted from within Africa which can
give the continent an opportunity to champion a narrative and consistent
aspiration for Africa.
Africa is expecting a new global
climate agreement outcome from the Paris UN summit at the end of the year.
This is because climate change has
significant implications for Africa’s development and poses complex and changes
for the continent.
Although Africa contributes only 3.8
percent of the total greenhouse gas emission, its countries are among the most
vulnerable.
The continent’s poorer countries and
communities will suffer earliest and hardest from the effects of climate
change, impacting important climate sensitive sectors such as agriculture.
“It is clear that although African
negotiators understand the intricacies and complexities, they have in the past
faced challenges in their attempt to change any aspect of climate change
negotiations,” Dr Bilal said.
Dr Bilal observed that the success
of COP21 is critical to the post 2015 global climate regime that could keep
climate change under control.
He was optimistic the ACTs
conference would contribute to Africa’s preparedness in forging a strategy that
ultimately result in a monitoring and evaluation for Africa negotiations.
And Vice Chancellor, University of
Dar es Salaam Rwekaza Mukandala added that it is unacceptable to let business
as usual in climate change.
Prof Mukandala stated that “COP21
sets good stance for Africa. It is more important for Africa because this
dialogue will result in the agreement that will shape the negotiations.
Addressing climate change has become
central to the continent’s development agenda.
Various policy solutions and actions
have been developed and implemented in response to climate change.
These have ranged from the Clean
Development Mechanism (CDM), the National Adaptation Action Plans (NAPAs),
National Action Plans to the REDD and REDD ++ responses
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