BONN, Germany (PAMACC News) - President Trump’s decision to pull the United States from the Paris climate agreement has been met with strong criticism from African civil society sounding a knell against countries or parties that follow in his footsteps.African civil society under the leadership of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance, PACJA have called on countries “to make the ultimate choice either in support of people and planet or Donald Trump and profit”.In a report, “CSO Demands to COP23” ,the civil society organizations stated unequivocally that the time of action in support of people and planet is now and not later. It cautioned that silence or inaction by any party(country) will be synonymous to backing Donald Trump’s pull out decision.“Inaction by any party is equivalent to alliance with Donald Trump” the report stated.They describe the pullout decision by Trump as an affront and travesty to climate justice, health of the planet and a threat to humanity in general and Africa in particular.The report noted that Africa is feeling the pinch of climate change most with alarm bells ringing already on a number of issues, which are the cause of great concern among the African civil society and African people in general;The failure to close the finance gap, the inadequate current pledges to stay below 2°C; the delay in addressing ‘orphan issues’ under the Paris Agreement namely, common timeframes for NDCs, adjustment of existing NDCs, the response measures forum, recognition of developing countries’ adaptation efforts, guidance related to finance, setting a new collective goal on finance, developed countries’ biennial finance communications, and education, training and awareness; the slow pace and ambiguity in sequencing of work on the Paris Agreement Rule Book thus creating roadblocks in advancing the its formulation, among others,were short falls raised in the report.The report hailed Fiji’s Presidency of COP23 which they said should be seen as symbolic, coming at a time island states have suffered enormously due to climate-related hurricanes and tornadoes. The report also called on delegates to fulfill demands: pursuant to Article 2 of the Paris Agreement with pledges to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, all parties to practically commit beyond their current level of emission target in their NDCs to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius this century and resubmit. It should be noted that President Trump’s withdrawal has galvanized criticism even from US citizens and companies as well as the International community.Like African civil society, several of the largest U.S. companies — such as Apple, Exxon Mobile and Ford Motor Company have also pledged to either stick to the climate accord or continue cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the coming decades in clear departure from Trump’s position.However African civil society organizations are still calling on those sitting on the fence to come out publicly and declare their position. “We believe that Trump has silent allies who may not be candid enough to come out and publicly denounce globally agreed pact which offers hope for the people,”…

BONN, Germany (PAMACC News) - African civil society groups attending the 23rd session of the conference of parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have called for a swift classification of the global community along the lines of those for the people and planet and those who are for Trump and profit. The call was made against the backdrop of of destructive hurricanes, fires, floods, droughts, melting ice and food security-threatening impacts that preceded today’s opening of the UN climate talks. According to the civil society groups under the aegis of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) which represents small holder farmers, trusts, pastoralists, women and youth from across Africa, the global community has increasingly become more vulnerable to the devastating impacts of climate change due to President Trump’s ill-advised attempts at reversing his predecessor’s climate legacies and the cold, conspiratorial silence of those who choose profit over the planet. “Coming from the region that suffers the most due to climate change, we have watched with utter dismay President Trump’s continued efforts at dismantling the former President Barrack Obama’s climate legacy, and wish to reiterate that this is the time to classify the global community into two: those for the people and planet, and those for Trump and Profit” says Mithika Mwenda, the alliance’s Secretary General. Augustine Njamshi, executive director of the Bio-Resource and Development Centre in Cameroon takes it further. Njamshi wants a declaration that equates climate inaction by any party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to being in alliance with Donald Trump. “Unless we see accelerated action on the implementation of the Paris Agreement pursuant to Marrakech Action Plan by industrialised countries, we will declare them silent allies of Trump and enemies of the people and planet, irrespective of the empty rhetoric they bring to the climate talks” Njamshi added. Identifying with call by non-state actors from Africa, newly elected COP23 President, Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama whose country suffered damages of well over $1bn after Cyclone Winston struck in 2016 said “all over the world, vast numbers of people are suffering – bewildered by the forces ranged against them. Our job as leaders is to respond to the suffering with all means available to us,” said. “This means to meet our commitments in full, not back away from them.” Mr Bainimarama during his acceptance speech at the opening ceremony said that Fiji is working to build a “Grand Coalition” throughout the year between governments at every level, civil society, the private sector and faith-based organizations. With only war-torn Syria keeping the United States company in the cold coven of countries outside the Paris deal, the US appears set on its path to isolation in climate talks. A small company of diplomats representing the United States will find themselves in an extremely awkward spot: negotiating a deal their president has already walked away from. “The mood on the ground is it is going to be OK: the US is not…

BONN, Germany (PAMACC News) - Fiji’s Prime Minister and incoming COP President, Frank Bainimarama has called for an all inclusive approach in the implementation of the Paris Agreement.In his opening address that outlined Fiji’s vision for COP23 November 6, 2017 Fiji President called for an all inclusive blue print that focuses on maintaining the momentum for the implementation of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, emphasizing on the need to accelerates climate action for all vulnerable societies like Fiji’ a Small Island Developing State in the Pacific and Africa that are suffering most from the effects of climate change.“To build greater resilience for all vulnerable nations to the impacts of climate change, including extreme weather events and rising sea level, we need an all inclusive approach," said the Prime Minister, also President for COP23.He acknowledged the important leadership roles of past COP Presidencies in laying the foundation for a robust COP23, noting that it was time for the different stakeholders to work in synergy for the success of Fiji’s new vision for COP23 and the implementation of the Paris Agreement.“Addressing the urgent and immediate needs of the most vulnerable countries must continues to be the priority for all stakeholders,” he appealed.There is urgent need to build international efforts towards strengthening the resilience of developing countries to climate change, channeling support mainly through avenues like the Least Developed Countries and the Special Climate Fund, Frank Bainimarama noted.His position was corroborated by the chair of the African group of negotiators Seyni Nafo who emphasized on the need for least developed countries to get the much needed support to stand the climate challenge. He called on African leaders to make informed choices that reflects the needs of the people and grassroots communities that suffers most the impact of climate change.“African leaders have the obligation to make informed choices and to take decisions that by and large reflects the need of their people, especially the grassroots communities,” Seyni noted.Outlining the COP23 Presidency vision, he said it will advance the work of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and preserve the multilateral consensus for decisive action to address the underlying causes of climate change, respecting climate science. It will also uphold and advance the Paris Agreement, ensure progress on the implementation guidelines and undertake consultations together with the Moroccan COP22 Presidency to design the process for the Facilitative Dialogue in 2018.The building of greater resilience for all vulnerable nations, enable access to climate adaptation finance, renewable energy, clean water and affordable climate risk and disaster insurance; and to promote sustainable agriculture as well as forge a grand coalition to accelerate climate action before 2020 and beyond between civil society, the scientific community, the private sector and all levels of government, including cities and regions.“We are all vulnerable and we all need to act,” he emphasised.All have to act together to harness innovation, enterprise and investment to fast track the development and deployment of climate solutions that will build future economies with net zero…

BONN, Germany (PAMACC News) – As the 23rd round of climate change negotiations kick off in Bonn Germany, the chair of the Least Developed Countries has called on the negotiators to prioritise funding and support towards implementation of the deal agreed upon in Paris in December 2015."COP 23 is an important opportunity to bridge the widening finance gap, (which is) a serious barrier to ambitious climate action worldwide,” said Gebru Jember Endalew, Chair of the Least Developed Countries (LDC) Group.The Paris Agreement set a vision for an ambitious global response to climate change that will keep warming below 1.5°C, in a fair and equitable manner that promotes sustainable development. “This COP is a vital step on our journey to setting out a clear rulebook that will fully implement the vision laid out at Paris,” he said observing that COP 23 is the final round of negotiations before the work programme of the Paris Agreement is to be finalised. “We must (therefore) hope to leave Bonn with a draft negotiating text that can be fleshed out over the coming year."The United Nations climate change negotiations kicked off in Bonn on November 6 and will end in two weeks time. Hosted by Fiji, the negotiations are a key milestone towards finalisation of the rules that will govern implementation of the Paris Agreement. The impacts of rising global temperatures continue to worsen. In the lead up to COP23, there was historic monsoon flooding, resulting in over a thousand lives lost and the displacement of over two million people in South Asia; the impact of consecutive seasons of drought in Africa; historic rainfall (with Hurricane Harvey setting a single-storm rainfall record in the United States, causing tens of billions of dollars in damage); and historic windspeeds laying waste to many Caribbean island territories (with Hurricane Irma recording the highest windspeed on record for the open Atlantic Ocean). The catastrophic impacts of these extreme weather events, according to Endalew, underlie the urgency of substantive progress and action in Bonn. “LDCs will be pushing to deliver a Paris rulebook that catalyses greater ambition to correct our current trajectory and put the world on track to keep warming below 1.5°C. This means robust frameworks for reporting, implementation and compliance, and gauging progress across all facets of the Paris Agreement and climate Convention," said the LDC chair."As the 47 poorest countries in the world, the LDCs face the unique and unprecedented challenge of lifting our people out of poverty and achieving sustainable development without relying on fossil fuels,” he said. Endalew observed that global solidarity and the support of the international community is essential for LDCs to achieve our ambitious climate plans, and protect the people from devastating impacts of climate change that are already taking their toll.At COP23 the LDC Group is calling on developed countries to rapidly accelerate the delivery of climate finance, with a particular focus on public finance. Both the Least Developed Countries Fund and the Adaptation Fund need to be replenished continuously and…