NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - Development stakeholders from Africa have been challenged to drive strategies and mechanisms that can speed-up the climate ambition of their different countries.

Different speakers at the opening of the Seventh Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA – VII) conference in Nairobi, October 10,2018, agreed that Africa must hence lead the way in the implementation of the Paris Agreement by operationalising their different  nationally determined contributions in line with the Paris Agreement.

According to James Murombedzi, Officer in Charge of the Economic Commission for Africa’s African Climate Policy Center (ACPC), while the Agreement is a treaty between nation states, its implementation is the challenge of the different countries in line with their Nationally Determined Contributions(NDCs) .

“Africa has the potential to drive the implementation of the Paris Agreement,” he said.

He notes that sustainable, inclusive and equitable development which does not increase atmospheric carbon concentrations was possible.

“But for these opportunities to be realized, a lot needs to be done by the different countries”.

The CCDA-VII Conference is taking place under the theme,”Climate change and development in Africa; policies and actions for effective implementation of the Paris Agreement for resilient economies in Africa”

 Kenya’s Environment and Forestry Minister, Keriako Tobiko called on African governments to exercise good political will to make the Paris Agreement implementation effective.

“Without political goodwill recommendations from scientists as contained in the Agreement cannot be translated to policies,” Keriako said.

Climate change accordingly is seriously impacting in many African countries making life perilous for especially the vulnerable population, women, children, reason why the implementation of the Paris Agreement is more than urgent.

“The implementation of the Paris Agreement remains a priority for the continent in order to adapt to the inevitability of climate variability and change. It is however important to emphasize that achieving the goals of the Agreement require committed leadership from state and non-state actors,” the Minister said.

Among other actions, countries were enjoined to integrated green economy in the development action plans.

“Integration of green economy and other innovative carbon free investments in national action plans have today become critical,” Murombedzi  said.

He also ccommented on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels.

The reports he said, means that there is a chance for a stable climate system which will allow for sustainable development but only if we do manage to halt emissions in the projected time frame.

“This added implies doing two things, the first to halt emissions and to have an organized transition to a carbon neutral future in the shortest time possible. And the second to restructure our economies to ensure sustainable development without further emissions,”  Murombedzi said.

He said it has been demonstrated that in addressing these challenges, there were opportunities to be harnessed.

 James Kinyangi of the AfDB and the ClimDev Fund, for his part disclosed an ambitious Climate Action Change Plan for the period 2016-2020 for the Bank.

 He said the plan explores modalities for achieving adaptation, the adequacy and effectiveness of climate finance, capacity building and technology transfer – building skills so African economies to fully harness potential for adaptation in high technology sectors.

Under this plan, the Bank, which hosts the ClimDev Africa Special Fund, will nearly triple its annual climate financing to reach $5 billion a year by 2020 Kinyangu said, reiterating the Bank’s commitment to continue to work with African countries and its partners to deepen partnerships and investments that help address the impacts of climate change

The seventh Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa it should be noted  is aimed at interrogating Africa’s nationally determined contributions and define actionable agendas regarding them with  specific objective of providing space and facilitate science-practice-policy dialogue to unpack the options available for the implementation of the contributions in Africa

It is also geared at addressing the missing links for enhanced uptake and use of Climate Information and Services into development planning, policy and practice in Africa, including sectoral contributions as well as understand the various options to finance climate action, including the modalities for unlocking available and new forms of climate finance.