NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - Individuals, communities, civil society, businesses and governments around the world marked World Environment Day under the theme #OnlyOneEarth, with official celebrations held in Stockholm and host country Sweden announcing a ban on issuing new licenses for the extraction of coal, oil, and natural gas from 1 July this year to protect people and planet. Announcing the ban at the official Word Environment Day celebrations in Stockholm, Sweden’s Minister for Climate and the Environment, Annika Strandhäll, said, “Making the green jobs of the future by accelerating the climate transition is one of the top priorities for the Swedish government. As part of our efforts to implement our climate ambitions, we must take actions against activities that have a negative impact on our health and our environment.” “Our message to the global community is clear. The winners in the global race will be the ones that speed up the transition, not the ones that lag behind and cling to a dependency on fossil fuels,” she added. Tens of millions of people around the world joined global conversations on social media demanding urgent action to conserve and restore the environment. Tens of thousands organized their own activities, including the planting of millions of trees, cleaning trash and taking actions to highlight that there is #OnlyOneEarth. 2022 marks the 49th time World Environment Day has been celebrated. It was established following the UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm in 1972, and is celebrated annually on 5 June, with a different country hosting it each year. This year’s theme – #OnlyOneEarth – mirrors the theme of the first World Environment Day in 1973. It calls for collective, transformative action on a global scale to celebrate, protect and restore our planet. “Fifty years ago, the world’s leaders came together at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment and committed to protecting the planet. But we are far from succeeding. We can no longer ignore the alarm bells that ring louder every day,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in his World Environment Day message. “The recent Stockholm+50 environment meeting reiterated that all 17 Sustainable Development Goals rely on a healthy planet,” he added. “We must all take responsibility to avert the catastrophe being wrought by the triple crises of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss.” The official event, held at the Tekniska Museet in Stockholm, included a discussion between Ms. Strandhäll, Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, and young people. “The triple planetary crisis is accelerating, and why? Because we consume 1.7 planets a year. We have only one Earth. We have to accept that we're not doing enough to protect it,” Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said at the event. “I stand before you because we have to do better. We know what to do. The science has told us we have to end fossil fuels. We have to restore nature to its full glory. We have to transform our…

BONN, Germany (PAMACC News) - Developing countries under the banner of G-77 & China have called for establishment of a dedicated “Loss and Damage Finance Facility,” and relaxation of several complexities barring access to the Green Climate Fund (GCF), as the 56th session of the subsidiary bodies (SB-56) under the United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC) kick off in Bonn, Germany. “Full operationalization of the Santiago Network on Loss and Damage at COP-27 is critical,” said Munir Akram, the Pakistan’s ambassador to the UN and the current Chair of the 134 member states that form the G-77 & China. The ‘Santiago Network on Loss and Damage’ is an initiative launched by the UNFCCC to connect vulnerable developing countries with providers of technical assistance, knowledge, resources they need to address climate risks comprehensively in the context of averting, minimizing and addressing loss and damage. “The G-77 & China is united in our ask for the establishment of a dedicated “Loss and Damage Finance Facility” as an intended tangible outcome to which the Glasgow Dialogue on Loss and Damage must contribute,” Ambassador Akram told delegates at the ongoing SB-56 conference in Germany. According to the G – 77 & China, substantial progress must be made at the ongoing conference in terms of agreement on its structure, operating modalities, and other aspects, while doing so in a manner that will ensure that the Santiago Network is fit for purpose in light of its functions as agreed in Warsaw, to catalyze and deliver on the ground the technical assistance and other support needed by developing countries to avert, minimize and address loss and damage arising from climate change. For example in Africa, several communities in Malawi, Madagascar and Mozambique are yet to recover from different cyclones that bedevilled the region in the recent past. According to a recent study released by the World Weather Attribution (WWA) group, the tropical storms that hit the region earlier this year were made worse by the increase in global temperatures, making such communities eligible for support from the Loss and Damage Finance Facility. In the same vein, the G-77 & China further said that there is urgent need to bridge the huge gap between adaptation planning and implementations. “On progress of the National Adaptation Plans (NAPS), there seems to be some disconnect between what is being planned, and what is being implementation on ground. Discussion on adaptation continuum must be connected with a reliable financial mechanism,” said Ambassador Akram noting that it is only implementation that will fulfil the objectives of the NAPs. However, the G-77 & China noted that main challenges remain in accessing GCF support due to a myriad of complexities surrounding the GCF NAP readiness Support Programme. Procedural complexities, un-standardized formats and long review processes of submitted proposals are but a few examples. According to the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), vulnerable countries will not be able to adapt to global warming beyond the 1.5°C limit. The Working Group 3…

BONN, Germany (PAMACC Newa) - Today, delegates from close to 200 countries in Bonn began negotiations that will shape the agenda for the 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) scheduled for November 2022 in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt. Known as the 56th session of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA), the Bonn talks hold from 6-16 June 2022 as Russia's invasion of Ukraine overshadows the threat of rising emissions. This year's SBSTA meeting, analysts say, provides an opportunity to gauge the resolve of nations facing a catalogue of crises, including escalating climate impacts, geopolitical tensions, bloodshed in Ukraine and the threat of a devastating global food crisis. The SBSTA Chair, Tosi Mpanu Mpanu, expressed confidence that despite the challenging geopolitical context this year, climate change remains very high on the agenda of governments. "Climate change is the biggest threat to life and livelihoods we face. We need to underline that climate change is the biggest issue of our time. In the last months, we have seen a lot of eagerness from governments to get down to work in Bonn. We have seen a lot of work at workshops and other events. There is a great appetite to make progress," Mpanu Mpanu added. Imperative of progress Outgoing UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, Patricia Espinosa called on governments not to be deterred as the meeting in Bonn is holding against the backdrop of accelerating climate impacts and geopolitical tension. Espinosa underscored the urgency of political-level interventions and decisions required in each of the focal areas for negotiations to achieve a balanced package. These areas according to her, include mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, and finance and means of implementation. "It is not acceptable to say that we are in challenging times, even though we are. But they know that climate change is not an agenda we can afford to push back on our global schedule. We need decisions and actions now, and it is incumbent on all nations to make progress here in Bonn in the coming two weeks." "And we must understand that climate change is moving exponentially -- we can no longer afford to move incrementally. We can no longer afford to make just incremental progress. We must move these negotiations along more quickly. The world expects it," she added. According to the UN climate chief, doing so will send a clear message that "we are headed in the right direction. Because the world will have one question in Sharm El-Sheikh: what progress have you made since Glasgow?" Beyond Glasgow At COP 26 in Glasglow last year, countries agreed to submit stronger 2030 emission reduction targets to close the gap to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F). Glasglow talks also agreed that developed countries should urgently deliver more resources to help climate-vulnerable countries adapt to the dangerous and costly consequences of climate change that they are feeling already — from dwindling crop yields to devastating…

ACCRA, Ghana (PAMACC News) - The African Development Bank Group’s Annual Meetings in May will focus on the impact of climate change on Africa and the need for a just energy transition on the continent, the Bank Group’s Secretary General has said. Professor Vincent Nmehielle spoke during a virtual press conference convened to brief journalists about the agenda of the five-day meetings, to be held from 23 to 27 May in Accra, Ghana. For the first time since 2019, many delegates at this year’s meetings: the 57th Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank and the 48th Annual Meeting of the African Development Fund, will meet in person. Nmehielle said the theme, Achieving Climate Resilience, and a Just Energy Transition for Africa, was chosen to provide a framework for the governors of the Banks to share their experiences and engage in addressing climate change and energy transition challenges, as well as their policies and measures to deal with them. “Governments will be able to show what their countries have done in this regard,” the Secretary General said. A key highlight during the Bank Group’s Annual Meetings will be a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the African Development Fund, the Bank Group’s concessional lending arm. The Annual Meetings will also serve as a precursor to the UN Climate Change Conference, or COP 27, which is being called the “African COP”, to be held in November in Egypt. Governments will once again lobby for the continent’s positions on climate change. The Secretary General was joined by African Development Bank Acting Chief Economist and Vice President Professor Kevin Urama; Vice-President for Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth Dr Kevin Kariuki; and the Director of the Agriculture and Agro-Industry department Dr Martin Fregene, who represented the Vice President of the complex. They answered questions from the over 80 journalists who attended the event. Professor Urama emphasized the Bank’s role as a thought leader in Africa, saying the meetings would include three main knowledge events that would touch on topics such as building a digital economy, green jobs for youth and a special session on climate change that would include the launch of the African Development Bank’s African Economic Outlook for 2022 report. The Bank officials fielded questions on a range of topics, including the Bank’s role in infrastructure development, Africa’s energy transition, and a $1.5 billion plan to avert a food crisis sparked by the war in Ukraine. According to Urama, resilience was all encompassing. “The Bank will be focusing a lot more on infrastructure investments to build the resilience of countries, social resilience, economic resilience and also environmental resilience in general, including climate resilience,” he said. Kariuki noted that the African Development Bank was no longer investing in new coal projects. “However, when it comes to gas, we do understand that Africa needs to address its energy poverty and in order to look at energy poverty, we need to look at all non-coal sources of energy…Therefore, from where we stand, as long…