Climate and health: building consensus on a unified approach for post COP28 ACTION By Friday Phiri DUBAI, UAE (PAMACC News) - It is often said that environment and health are two sides of the same coin. The interdependence between environment and health cannot be ignored anymore as scientific evidence keeps highlighting that a poorly managed environment is a recipe for an increased disease burden across the globe. For instance, it is a no brainer that poor sanitation is a leading cause of water borne-related diseases, just as the case is with increased antimicrobial resistance and cancers resulting from poor chemical and other hazardous waste management. In recognition of the interplay between health and the environment, environmental and health experts have been working collaboratively to promote the one health concept—an integrated and unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals and ecosystems. One health recognises that the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants, and the wider environment (including ecosystems) are closely linked and interdependent. While health, food, water, energy and environment are all wider topics with sector-specific concerns, the collaboration across sectors and disciplines contributes to protect health, address health challenges such as the emergence of infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and food safety and promote the health and integrity of ecosystems. By linking humans, animals and the environment, One Health can help to address the full spectrum of disease control; from prevention to detection, preparedness, response and management – and contribute to global health security. The approach can be applied at the community, sub-national, national, regional and global levels, and relies on shared and effective governance, communication, collaboration and coordination. Having the One Health approach in place makes it easier for people to better understand the co-benefits, risks, trade-offs and opportunities to advance equitable and holistic solutions. As a consequence of poor environmental management, climate change has emerged as a major threat to global health,with the most vulnerable populations facing the greatest impact. Unfortunately, those who contribute least to the problem often suffer the most severe consequences. It is estimated that around 824 million people globally are malnourished, of which 58.7 million children are in Africa. Additionally, millions in Africa lack basic water and sanitation, leading to significant child mortality from diarrhoea.It is further estimated that58% ofinfectiousdiseasesgloballyhavebeenintensifiedbychanges in climate.This has ripple effects on public health, economy, environment, and education. The situation is predicted to worsen with rising global temperatures, threateningprogresstowardstheSustainableDevelopmentGoals (SDGs) and Universal Health Coverage. TheIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment report warns that climate change affects, both physical and mental health, and can exacerbate humanitarian crises, and recognises the need for action.Paragraph C.2 of the aforesaid report, states: “Deep, rapid and sustained mitigation and acceleratedimplementation of adaptation actions in this decade would reduce projected losses and damages forhumans and ecosystems, and deliver many co-benefits, especially for air quality and health.” Thus, several efforts are underway to integrate health into the formal UNFCCC discourse and to gain political traction on the…

DUBAI, UAE (PAMACC News – The United Nations Climate Change Conference COP28 will open tomorrow with a resounding call to accelerate collective climate action. The conference takes place in what is already known to be the hottest year ever recorded in human history and as the impacts of the climate crisis wreak unprecedented havoc on human life and livelihoods around the world. COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), from 30 November to 12 December 2023, is a decisive moment to act on climate commitments and prevent the worst impacts of climate change. UAE has the presidency for COP28, with Dr Sultan Al Jaber as this year’s president. This year’s COP marks the conclusion of the “global stocktake”, the first assessment of global progress in implementing the 2015 Paris Agreement. The findings are stark: the world is not on track to limiting temperature rise to 1.5°C by the end of this century. It does recognize that countries are developing plans for a net-zero future, and the shift to clean energy is gathering speed, but it makes clear that the transition is nowhere near fast enough yet to limit warming within the current ambitions. A report recently published by UN Climate Change shows that national climate action plans (known as nationally determined contributions, or ‘NDCs’) would collectively lower greenhouse gas emissions to 2% below 2019 levels by 2030, while the science is clear that a 43% reduction is needed. The global stocktake must be a catalyst for greater ambition in meeting the Paris Agreement’s goals as nations prepare to submit revised national climate action plans by 2025. It lays out actions on how to accelerate emissions cuts, strengthen resilience to climate impacts, and provide the support and finance needed for the transformation. “Over 160 world leaders are headed to Dubai, because only cooperation between nations can get humanity back in this race. But COP28 cannot be just a photo-op. Leaders must deliver – the message is clear,” said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell. “And as leaders leave Dubai after the opening summit, their message to their negotiators must be equally clear: don’t come home without a deal that will make a real difference.” Climate finance stands at the heart of this transformation. Replenishing the Green Climate Fund, doubling financial resources for adaptation and operationalizing the loss and damage fund are key to keeping 1.5°C within reach while leaving no one behind. “The reality is that without much more finance flowing to developing countries, a renewables revolution will remain a mirage in the desert. COP28 must turn it into a reality,” Stiell added. Progress on climate finance at COP28 will be crucial to build trust in other negotiation areas and to lay the groundwork for an even more ambitious “New Collective Quantified Goal” for climate finance, which must be in place next year. It will also set the stage for a just and inclusive transition to renewable energy and the phasing out of fossil fuels. In the face of rising…

PAMACC News - The Global Stocktake, to assess countries’ progress against the goals on climate change laid out in the Paris Agreement in 2015, must lead to rapid action to get the world back on track to limit warming to 1.5 degrees and to cope with the effects of a changed climate, according to the group of 46 Least Developed Countries (LDC) group who negotiate as a bloc at the UN’s climate change talks. The first Global Stocktake of progress towards the global goals of the Paris Agreement is expected to conclude at the next round of negotiations, COP28, getting underway in Dubai, UAE later this month. It is already clear it will find that countries are failing to meet all the goals, including limiting warming to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels, enhancing adaptation to climate change, increasing climate finance and addressing loss and damage. Madeleine Diouf Sarr, Chair of the LDC group said “Heat waves, floods, droughts, cyclones, forest fires and sea level rise — the consequences of climate change are becoming clearer each day, with extreme events affecting the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable people across the globe first, and worst. “The stocktake must clearly articulate how and why countries are falling short on reaching their goals and make robust recommendations to drive an urgent increase in emissions reduction commitments, adaptation efforts, support to address already occurring loss and damage, and climate finance.” The LDC group will be looking for richer countries to rebuild trust on the issue of climate finance by demonstrating they’ve met the $100bn goal they promised to developing countries by 2020 for addressing climate change. Developed countries should also adopt a roadmap on the goal to double finance to pay for measures to adapt to climate change by 2025. And the LDC group expects to see negotiation of a common definition of climate finance to make the tracking of progress towards these goals easier and more transparent. The paper, Vulnerability, Finance and Ambition – Critical Negotiations at COP28 for LDCs, co-written with the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), sets out further aims including around the new loss and damage fund. The LDC group wants to see the fund put into action and its coffers filled not with loans that will worsen the debt crisis for many countries, but with grants. Since the COP26 negotiations in Glasgow two years ago, countries have been working on agreeing a global approach to efforts to adapt to climate change in order to meet the Paris Agreement’s global goal on adaptation . Disagreements remain on the scope of targets to be included in the new framework and how the work required to meet such targets will be paid for. The LDC group wants to see the adoption of a robust framework on the global goal at COP28 centred around people, livelihoods and ecosystems. The Global Stocktake, to assess countries’ progress against the goals on climate change laid out in the Paris Agreement in 2015, must lead to rapid…

OPINION NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) In line with global trends, Kenya has seen a significant temperature increase of 0.3°C to 0.6°C per decade, impacting key sectors like agriculture and water resources. This rapid warming trend was a major focus at the inaugural Africa Climate Summit (ACS23) in Nairobi last month; which among others, highlighted the link between climate change, regional food systems and economic transformation. The ACS23 emphasized the consequences of inaction on food security and economic sovereignty, rallying an Africa's unified climate agenda ahead of the 28th UN climate change conference (COP28) in the UAE. Concurrently, the 2023 Africa Food Systems Forum (AFS Forum 23) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, stressed the urgent need for climate-responsive solutions by African governments to address the continent’s food system challenges. Kenya's President, Dr. William Ruto, has since come through on his promise to explore more green and environmental friendly fertilizers alongside a 10-year initiative to grow 15 billion trees by 2032, raising Kenya's tree cover to 30%, enhancing carbon sequestration, restoring 5.1 million hectares of deforested areas, and benefiting households as 30% of these trees will be fruit, nut, and fodder species. President Ruto has also banned single-use plastic bags and initiated trials for biodegradable tubing bags in line with a United Nations resolution from UNEA 5.2. Meanwhile, Kenya is at the forefront of climate change efforts in Africa, with the Climate Change Act of 2016, and recent amendments to enhance its carbon market regime, driving its responses. The government is also actively implementing the third cycle of the National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP III) to promote low-carbon, climate-resilient development. Yet even as we celebrate these great interventions, we must recognize that climate change is a complex issue that no single country can solve independently; a collaborative approach involving partnerships across national governments, the private sector and the international community is required for rapid transformation. We are glad to report that African leaders are focusing their development strategies on sustainable solutions at both the national and continental levels. The Africa Environment Action Plan, the Africa Clean Energy Corridor, and the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative all indicate the continent’s strategic commitment to addressing the climate crisis. The actions proposed in these initiatives were restated in the Nairobi Declaration, which summed up the outcomes of the ACS23. Africa’s common position on food systems will benefit from cross-sectional collaboration to ensure resource efficiency and high-impact transformation. The Declaration comprises 23 commitments, primarily addressing policy areas related to investment attraction, economic development (with a focus on youth empowerment), enhanced continental cooperation, increased renewable energy financing, support for small-scale farmers, and the expedited implementation of the African Union Climate Change and Resilient Development Strategy and Action Plan (2022-2032). Notably, the Declaration emphasizes the need for global collaboration to secure adequate capital for both development and climate initiatives, echoing the principles of the Paris Pact for People and the Planet, which aims to ensure that no country must choose between its development goals, climate action and the…