ACCRA, Ghana (PAMACC News) - Long-term climate change is increasing the intensity and frequency of extreme weather and climate events.
In Ghana, some regions have unexpectedly experienced incessant downpour in the month of March. Yet heatwaves abound throughout the countrol.
Heavy rains and heatwaves are among hazards faced by the ever-growing global population.
With urbanization and the spread of megacities, communities are exposed and vulnerable.
And people get worried.
In a WhatsApp group discussion, a lady quizzed: “Why does it rain only at night these days?”
Her question attracted a quick explanation in meteorology and climatology that “it rains mostly in the night because air is generally cooler at night, and cool air holds less moisture than warm air resulting in rainfall”.
But a socio-emotional explanation of the weather trend was sought after than the scientific account – the questioner was much worried at the lonely cold nights she has had to bear as a spinster.
And the sensually sexual reactions to the lady’s question were as intriguing as the unexpected changes in the weather condition.
“For smooth facilitation of reproduction,” one retorted in response to the question.
Another member on the platform also stated that “it is good for those of us who can’t afford air conditioning and its attendant electricity bills to enjoy cool weather”.
The group chat exposed the comfort and discomfort of extreme increases in environmental temperature.
Hot Discomforting Breeze
Barely a fortnight before the rains set in, many a family suffered heat waves day and night.
Social media had been agog with a circular cautioning an unbearable heat during daytime and at night.
“This is as a result of heat waves stemming from the emission of greenhouse gases. Experts have warned us to prepare for more hot days and warm nights. This preparation will require smart adaptation strategies and engaging in climate resilient practices to cope with the damage that has been done,” said the unknown author of the circular.
It was therefore welcoming when the rains arrived after a long dry spell of heatwaves that cut deep into the skin.
Kojo and her partner enjoyed a soothing night sleep after an evening’s downpour.
“Now I can put my legs on my wife,” he exclaimed.
Apparently, intimacy between the couple had been strained by the heat waves. The two could hardly stay in bed at night; their romantic intimacy of cuddling suffered in the hands of discomforting night sweat under the hot breeze.
“It gets irritating to go skin-to-skin when you and your partner are already drowning in sweat. Even late night cold showers don’t help matters,” said Kojo. “How can you be on heat when you’re already on fire?”
Persistent extreme weather events
As soothing as it may have been, the first rains in the year 2018 left Ghana’s capital city flooded.
Up north in Tamale, the heat waves remained unbearable even before Midday.
New research by scientists at Stanford University predicts extreme weather events are set to occur more frequently, even if the central goals of the Paris Climate Change Agreement to limit the global temperatures rise to well under 2°C is met.
The researchers analyzed the likelihood of warm, dry, and excessively rainy periods in the coming years, all of which are already exacerbated by rising global temperatures and sea levels.
Weather-ready, climate-smart is the theme of World Meteorological Day 2018. This reflects one of the top priorities of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) – to protect lives, livelihoods and property from the risks related to weather, climate and water events.
The Organization has noted that “now more than ever, we need to be weather-ready, climate-smart and water-wise” as climate services can inform decisions on both climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Certainly, the warm, dry periods will be causing havoc to romantic relationships as the excessive rainy periods break communities apart.
Adaptation to the inevitable impacts of climate change will doubtless become increasingly important over the coming years.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (PAMACC News) - There is a significant disconnect between global policy optimism on the benefits of REDD+ and local realities, experts said Thursday at the start of a two-day talkson “Market policy versus market mechanisms in the implementation of the Paris Agreement”.
“REDD+ is alive but not well” Dr. Adeniyi Kashwan of the University of Connecticut told a cross-section of climate change experts in Addis Ababa.
As climate change continues to threaten mankind, the world depends in part on forests to diminish its devastating effects.
“Forests cover 30% of the world’s land surface and are also one of the world’s best methods of storing carbon, absorbing 2.4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide each year and storing billions more” said Dr. Wallace Anacho, an environmentalist.
According to scientists, deforestation rates have increased significantly in Africa in the last decades jeopardizing the efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change. One initiative to stop deforestation is Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and (forest) Degradation commonly referred to as REDD+. About 29 African countries are involved in the REDD+ project.
“The basic idea of REDD+ is that, you pay countries and indigenous populations to plant and protect forests” said Dr. Yetibitu Moges of the Ethiopian Ministry of environment, forest and climate change.
The payment usually comes in form of credits referred to as carbon credits and it is expected to provide an alternative way of life to indigenous populations that hitherto relied on forest products to survive.
That is what is supposed to happen but experts are now worried that since the initiation of REDD+ by the United Nations, rights of some local communities have been abused.
“The future is not as bright as expected. In many countries we are seeing rights abuses. Here, we are talking about right to land, right to forests, right to take things out of the forest not just timber but vegetable food, non-timber forest products that people rely on for survival” said Dr. Adeniyi adding that bans on forest exploitation have in many cases proved detrimental to local communities.
“In enforcing these bans we see the use of military force, police and rangers often going into the forest with sophisticated ammunition to harass and terrorize communities. We have seen these in many African countries sometimes resulting in the loss of lives”.
The theory that you exclude indigenous communities from using the forest and then give them alternative means to survive has in many cases not materialized on the field, Dr. Adeniyi said.
“The carbon credit is often shared between consultants, sometimes foreign consultants and governments and a little bit offered to communities. So what is given to communities, if at all anything is given to them from REDD+ benefits is nothing compared to what they are losing. These benefits cannot sustain livelihoods that indigenous people have developed over time”
In spite of the shortcomings, there is a common agreement that REDD+ remains one of the most effective ways of protecting forests. At the Addis Ababa talks, experts were unanimous that there needs to be checks and balances from journalists, researchers and civil society actors on the field to follow up and report malpractices.
“We also have to recognize that REDD+ is not going anywhere if we do not address issues of social justice alongside issues of environmental conservation. The two have to go hand in hand. So you can’t keep the forests at the expense of peoples’ livelihoods and right to survival” Dr. Adeniyi added.
Essentially, fresh procedures should be introduced to get local communities of their own volition, realize that they own the forests and must protect them by themselves if they must survive, the experts suggested.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (PAMACC News) - There is a significant disconnect between global policy optimism on the benefits of REDD+ and local realities, experts said Thursday at the start of a two-day talkson “Market policy versus market mechanisms in the implementation of the Paris Agreement”.
“REDD+ is alive but not well” Dr. Adeniyi Kashwan of the University of Connecticut told a cross-section of climate change experts in Addis Ababa.
As climate change continues to threaten mankind, the world depends in part on forests to diminish its devastating effects.
“Forests cover 30% of the world’s land surface and are also one of the world’s best methods of storing carbon, absorbing 2.4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide each year and storing billions more” said Dr. Wallace Anacho, an environmentalist.
According to scientists, deforestation rates have increased significantly in Africa in the last decades jeopardizing the efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change. One initiative to stop deforestation is Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and (forest) Degradation commonly referred to as REDD+. About 29 African countries are involved in the REDD+ project.
“The basic idea of REDD+ is that, you pay countries and indigenous populations to plant and protect forests” said Dr. Yetibitu Moges of the Ethiopian Ministry of environment, forest and climate change.
The payment usually comes in form of credits referred to as carbon credits and it is expected to provide an alternative way of life to indigenous populations that hitherto relied on forest products to survive.
That is what is supposed to happen but experts are now worried that since the initiation of REDD+ by the United Nations, rights of some local communities have been abused.
“The future is not as bright as expected. In many countries we are seeing rights abuses. Here, we are talking about right to land, right to forests, right to take things out of the forest not just timber but vegetable food, non-timber forest products that people rely on for survival” said Dr. Adeniyi adding that bans on forest exploitation have in many cases proved detrimental to local communities.
“In enforcing these bans we see the use of military force, police and rangers often going into the forest with sophisticated ammunition to harass and terrorize communities. We have seen these in many African countries sometimes resulting in the loss of lives”.
The theory that you exclude indigenous communities from using the forest and then give them alternative means to survive has in many cases not materialized on the field, Dr. Adeniyi said.
“The carbon credit is often shared between consultants, sometimes foreign consultants and governments and a little bit offered to communities. So what is given to communities, if at all anything is given to them from REDD+ benefits is nothing compared to what they are losing. These benefits cannot sustain livelihoods that indigenous people have developed over time”
In spite of the shortcomings, there is a common agreement that REDD+ remains one of the most effective ways of protecting forests. At the Addis Ababa talks, experts were unanimous that there needs to be checks and balances from journalists, researchers and civil society actors on the field to follow up and report malpractices.
“We also have to recognize that REDD+ is not going anywhere if we do not address issues of social justice alongside issues of environmental conservation. The two have to go hand in hand. So you can’t keep the forests at the expense of peoples’ livelihoods and right to survival” Dr. Adeniyi added.
Essentially, fresh procedures should be introduced to get local communities of their own volition, realize that they own the forests and must protect them by themselves if they must survive, the experts suggested.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, (PAMACC News) – Participants attending the African Climate Talks II (ACT!-II) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia want Africa to change how it does business to reap the benefits of the Paris Agreement.
Attending the two-day talks dubbed “Market policy versus market mechanisms in the implementation of the Paris Agreement”, that begun on March 23, speakers called for an urgent shift in how the continent will forge ahead to escape the consequences of climate change.
Ambassador Lumumba Di-Aping, from South Sudan and former chair of the G77 called for strengthening of the current regime, noting that the current Paris Agreement is fundamentally flawed and inadequate.
“The agreement will be the main basis for multilateral cooperation during the first period of commitments (2020-2030). The African Continent in this new architecture is tragically weaker than even before,” Di-Aping said.
He urged Africa to reinvent itself consistently through science.“We must think“out of the box” to build the framework for a more effective effort from 2025 onwards – one consistent with Africa’s survival and prosperity,” he said.
Dr James Murombedzi, the Officer in Charge of the Africa Climate Centre Policy (ACPC) noted that the continent needs to invest in strong evidence based African narrative.
“This narrative should have a science, research and policy interface. We also should invest in informed societies that participate in the shaping of policies and strengthen capacities of countries,” Murombedzi said.
Prof Zehurin Woldu, Acting Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia urged participants to devise ways and means of tackling climate change disruptions.
“The temperatures are rising and Africa is suffering. Let us unite to save our continent. Let us develop sustainable ways of dealing with climate change,” Woldu said.
Di-Aping noted that Africa must move beyond the old dichotomy of “mitigation and adaptation.”
“We must look at each sector – agriculture, industry etc – and focus on integrating climate considerations into wider industrial and development planning in an integrated way. The climate regime must focus not just on “emissions reductions” but on the real solutions needed to achieve them,” Di-Aping said.
He urged for negotiations which provide a space where these with problems, with solutions and with money, can meet as part of a structured process.
“We need to make the UNFCCC more relevant to the real world. The Africa Renewable Energy Initiative is to be commended as an important step in the energy sector - we need matching initiatives in each other sector,” he said.
He called for technology and infrastructure marshal plan which can implement solutions in practice to meet Africa’s development goals.
“Let us think about the financial sector and financial instruments and engineering. If we need a major plan to address 1.50C, the question arises how to fund it. Clearly the $10 billion in the GCF will not be enough; and developed countries have no intention of delivering $100 billion in practice,” Di-Aping said.
He called for a permanent negotiating forum supported by government missions to enable more systematic discussion of solutions and how to implement them in practice.
“Meeting for a few weeks a year is simply not realistic if the objective is to stabilize the Earth’s climate and maintain the conditions needed for the continuation of civilization,” Di-Aping said.
He called on African leaders to recognize that the continent faces an existential crisis that it cannot alone solve.
“Our survival is at stake. We must convince or find ways to pressure or coerce -- other countries into doing their fair share,” he said.
He noted that Africa needs stronger science from an African perspective and Climate Institutions.
“We need an African Climate Science Working Group – an African IPCC led by and for Africans. We do not have an AU Commissioner for Climate Change. It is notable that there is no permanent secretariat supporting the African Group, and that we shamefully remain reliant on foreign donors for much of the support to our technical experts,” Di-Aping said.
He also urged Africa to find ways to exert greater pressure on all countries to achieve 1.50C and 20C goals.
“Our trade policies and foreign direct investments (FDI) cost structures reflect the need for financing mitigation and adaptation in each sector. Can we make access to resources, including fossil fuels,conditional upon climate action and climate funding? he posed.
Prof Laban Ogallo of the University of Nairobi called for trans-boundary efforts to make sure that one country’s wrongs or rights do not affect neighbours.
“Many African countries share rivers, mountains, lakes, coastal lines among many resources. We need to work together so that we can achieve common goals across the continent,” Ogallo said.
Dr Adeniyi Asiyanbi of the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom said REDD+ is replete with severe rights abuses, safeguards notwithstanding.
“REDD+ is alive but certainly not dead. Communities participating in the scheme are disillusioned due to unmet expectations. However, carbon forestry logic will persist and will reflect emerging political trends. Governments and international institutions will also seek new alliances under this scheme,” Asiyanbi said.
Prof.Godwell Nhamu of the University of South Africa urged African negotiators to vigorously negotiate for all they want.
“Half a loaf is better than nothing” is a myth. Half a loaf remains half a loaf. Let us negotiate for a full loaf. If our negotiators can’t ask for what we want, they should give way for those who are willing to get what they ask for in the UNFCCC process,” Nhamu said.
He noted that agriculture is the backbone of African economies and countries should give it the prominence it deserves.
“There is minimal reference of agriculture on African NDCs. Rwanda mentions it 23 times while South Africa mentions it twice. If we forsake agriculture, then we have missed the point,” he said.
Prof David Lessole of the University of Botswana called for specific and urgent interventions to address effects of climate change.
“We run a workshop on $20,000 and end it at a talking point. If the $20,000 was given to a group of women to construct a sand dam, they could break the cycle of poverty,” Lessole said.
He added, “Seems in Africa, we do not have the mouth to eat the climate money. We use our mouths to talk too much when others are eating.”
Prof Cush Ngonzo of Health College of Kenge, DR Congo insisted on a research-based approach in addressing climate change shocks.
“Africa does not lack the capacity to deliver on its promises. We should talk about capabilities of implementing the same. The continent has a strong reservoir of research brains which we need to nurture and use in solving our problems,” Ngonzo said.
Prof Seth Osafo called on developed countries to meet their pledges in climate change commitments.
“We need to quickly finish drafting the Paris Agreement rule book so that we implement the pact. African countries however, need to pursue policies that can be implemented as some of them are hard to implement,” Osafo said.
Dr Yitebitu Moges, national REDD+ coordinator, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ethiopia said the country’s green growth path cuts across its seven economic sectors.
“We aim to achieve a 64 per cent reduction in national green house emissions by 2030. Agriculture and forestry contribute close to 85 per cent of the baseline emissions,” Moges said.
