WINDGOEK, Namibia (PAMACC News) -  The Weather and Climate Information Services for Africa (WISER) funded Climate Research for Development (CR4D) has moved into high gear with the establishment of a grant management mechanism framework.

According to Frank Rutabingwa of the African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the key objective of the framework is to support “African-led small, but potentially scalable research grant management facility in African institutions that will support CR4D research priorities.”

“A comprehensive project document on WISER funded CR4D research definition, oversight and uptake has been developed,” Rutabingwa said, adding that 2, 847,000 pounds have been secured from the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID).

Rutabingwa was speaking in Windhoek, Namibia, at the fourth Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) meeting.

The meeting was held ahead of a two day write-shop to produce an African Regional Climate Outlook Forum (RCOFs) Best Practices document emanating from ACPC’s knowledge exchange workshops organised earlier in the year. The aim is to have a document that serves as a reference by all RCCs.

CR4D which was launched in 2015, aims at advancing new frontiers of African climate research to enhance co-production of climate information and services for development planning,

Research for development is therefore seen as a critical and complimentary component to achieve the overall goal of the WISER progarmme, which is to stimulate the uptake of climate information by policy makers and vulnerable groups including the youth and women.

Most importantly, Africa’s increasingly variable weather and climate, experts say, threatens development in sectors such as agriculture and food security, water, energy, infrastructure, and health are already sensitive to weather related shocks.

Further, experts believe research is critical in the operationalization of the Paris Agreement whose rule book is expected to be finalised at COP 24, and that African countries would need to be better prepared in the implementation of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

James Murombedzi, ACPC officer-in-charge, says the centre is fully committed to support member countries in their efforts to fight climate change and achieve sustainable development.

“The ECA is fully committed to supporting member States regarding the NDCs, taking into account the need for urgent and adequate climate action while staying on course to achieve the goals of Agenda 2063 and the sustainable development goals,” he said.

COP 24 is seen as the make or break meeting since the landmark Paris Agreement in 2015. It is being held against the backdrop of a year of record-breaking climate impacts, and the landmark special report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); “Global Warming of 1.50C” which unequivocally concluded that the world is not on track to limiting global temperature rise to below 1.50C.   

It is generally agreed that 2015 was a landmark year in the development of coherent global frameworks to guide development planning. The agreements concluded in 2015 include: the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (SFDRR); the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; African Union’s Agenda 2063; the Addis Ababa Action Agenda; and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

For Africa, whose economies have been severely affected by global warming and climate change, successful implementation of any of these frameworks is fundamentally contingent on actions taken regionally and globally to address the negative impacts of climate change on the one hand, and/or to explore and use some of the development opportunities from climate change.

As most of the 2015 development frameworks demonstrably point out, very little could be achieved by way of implementation of these frameworks without a complete mastery of the collection and analysis processes of climate data, which is the basis for reliable information for action on climate change at all sectoral levels.