OPINION At the heart of efforts to slow climate change and build a more sustainable development future lies the often overlooked and shameful fact that, today, 1 billion people live without access to electricity and 3 billion without access to clean cooking. The challenge for those governments where there are significant energy gaps is a complex one: how to produce cleaner, affordable energy for far more people, far more quickly.This is a challenge we must, and can, overcome. But if we’re to do that, we need to help countries unpack one of the key obstacles – lack of finance.New SEforALL Energizing Finance research released during the UN General Assembly, done in partnership with the World Bank, the African Development Bank, Climate Policy Initiative, Practical Action Consulting and E3 Analytics, targets countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia with the biggest gaps in access to electricity and clean cooking countries. It analyzes what countries are committing to energy access, how quickly and effectively the finance is being disbursed and financial challenges energy enterprises are facing in delivering modern energy services.Overall investment in these countries is not nearly at the levels needed to meet key parts of UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 – universal access to affordable, reliable and, with Paris Climate Agreement now in place, clean energy for all by 2030. Estimates indicate that $45 billion a year in investment is needed to achieve universal electrification access, but the latest data shows that finance commitments in the high-impact countries, representing 80 percent of the global electricity access gap, average only $19.4 billion a year.A significant increase in investment is especially needed in Sub-Saharan Africa countries where roughly half a billion people are living without power, most of them in hard-to-reach rural areas. Decentralized renewable energy such as solar, offers a promising solution for these people, but precious little financing – only 1 percent of the finance we tracked - is going into services for them.Perhaps more shocking, despite 3 billion people worldwide lacking access to clean cooking, investments in clean fuels and technologies for cooking are even lower. Finance commitments for residential clean cooking in the high-impact countries – representing 84 percent of the global clean cooking gap – averaged about $32 million during the two-year period we analyzed. Estimated annual residential clean cooking investment needs are at least $4.4 billion a year. We are orders of magnitude off the pace needed to ensure we leave no one behind.But our research also shows myriad encouraging indicators, including modest gains in several countries that have made access to electricity and clean cooking political priorities. We’re also seeing early stage shifts in financing strategies by governments and development finance institutions that will target energy access solutions more effectively.Bangladesh and Kenya, in particular, are making gains in urban and rural areas with more integrated electrification strategies that include centralized electric grid infrastructure and decentralized solar services, which are already powering millions of rural households. They’re also enacting policies to spur diverse types of public…

ABUJA, Nigeria (PAMACC News) - The African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW) has announced the convocation of its 15th anniversary celebration. The celebration, which is scheduled to hold on the 27th and 28th of November 2017 in Abuja, Nigeria will also feature an Executive Council Meeting of African Water Ministers on the 27th of November, and Strategic Dialogue with Development Partners on the 28th November 2017. Organised by AMCOW in collaboration with the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture of the African Union Commission alongside regional and international partners, the 15th anniversary celebration will be hosted by the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, represented by the Nigerian Ministry of Water Resources. In a statement signed by the AMCOW Executive Secretary, Dr Canisius Kanangire, the 15th anniversary celebration represents “an auspicious moment to showcase leading success stories and achievements conceptualized and facilitated by AMCOW within the ambit of its mandate as the continent’s apex water institution.” “Over the past fifteen years of its existence, AMCOW has contributed immensely to the realization of the Africa Water Vision 2025 and the attainment of African Union’s goals of stronger cooperation, peace and security, poverty eradication and the economic development of Africans and Africa,” Dr Kanangire added. The theme for the 15th anniversary is “Towards Water Security and Safe Sanitation for Africa” and participants from governments, regional institutions, international partners, the private sector, the scientific community, civil society and the media from all over the world are expected to attend. Established since 2002 in Abuja Nigeria, the African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW) promotes cooperation, security, social and economic development and poverty eradication among member states through the effective management of the continent’s water resources and provision of water supply services. The organization brings together Water and Sanitation ministers from Africa’s 55-member states with the unifying purpose of providing political leadership, policy direction and advocacy in the provision, use and management of water resources for sustainable social and economic development and maintenance of African ecosystems. AMCOW currently represents the Working Group on Water and Sanitation of the Specialized Technical Committee (STC) on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment (ARDWE) under the African Union Commission (AUC).

ABUJA, NIGERIA (PAMACC News) - As the UN General Assembly convenes in New York, the Least Developed Countries (LDC) Group calls on heads of state and government to reaffirm their pledge to tackle climate change by committing to fair and concrete climate solutions that will protect all people and the planet. The theme of this year's UN General Assembly debate - 'Focusing on People: Striving for Peace and a Decent Life for All on a Sustainable Planet' - is a timely and vital reminder of the importance of safeguarding a liveable world for ourselves and future generations. Mr. Gebru Jember Endalew, Chair of the LDC Group, said: "the urgent need for serious climate action has never been clearer. Over the past months we have seen devastating events exacerbated by climate change, from deadly hurricanes and flooding, to wildfires and heatwaves. No corner of our planet is safe from climate impacts. Global temperatures have already risen 1.1°C and the frequency and severity of these events will only worsen with further warming." "Collective commitments by the global community to date are woefully inadequate in the face of our shared challenge of climate change. Current pledges under the Paris Agreement put the world on course for 3.5°C of warming by the end of the century. This is a death sentence for many communities across the world, particularly in poor and vulnerable countries. Humanity cannot afford to delay." "There is a widening gulf between the climate finance that is provided and mobilised and the reality of finance received and needed. Without adequate climate finance and support to developing countries, mainly LDCs and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are left without a lifeline. Many trillions of dollars are required to implement the Paris Agreement." "The LDCs are committed to being at the frontline of the clean energy revolution. The LDC Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Initiative will deliver sustainable climate action and lift communities out of poverty. If we are truly to set the planet on a safe course, all countries, and particularly those who contribute the most to climate change, must follow suit. Renewable energy has the power to place us on a path to a cleaner, fairer and more prosperous world for all." "Spread across Africa, southern Asia, the Pacific and Caribbean, the 47 LDCs all face immense challenges in adapting to climate change and addressing the loss and damage it unleashes. LDCs are taking ambitious domestic action to lead by example, and call on the rest of the world to do the same in line with their capability to respond and responsibility for the problem. State, city and business leaders from around the world have just met in New York for climate week, and the LDC Group urges leaders at the UN General Assembly to carry the conversation forward and inspire real action from all nations across the globe."

ABUJA, Nigeria (PAMACC News) - Following suggestions that Donald Trump could only consider remaining a signatory of the Paris Agreement if new terms were reached, President of France, Emmanuel Macron has declared that the landmark Paris climate deal will not be renegotiated. The French President's comments came during his address to the UN General Assembly amidst renewed hopes that the world's second largest polluter would remain tied to the accord's carbon emission targets.Macron also told his audience at the United Nations General Assembly that "the door will be open" for the United States to return to the agreement if it so wishes."This agreement will not be renegotiated." "We will not retreat" he added.Macron noted that the international community had so far fallen short of successfully addressing major threats such as climate change. Now more than ever before, we need common efforts to tackle environmental challenges and other global issues, Macron said, including war and terrorism. "We can only address those challenges through multilateralism, not through survival of the fittest." Macron also hit back at US President Donald Trump on Tuesday by staunchly defending the Iran nuclear deal at the UN General Assembly, speaking soon after Trump called the deal an "embarrassment to the United States".“Renouncing it would be a grave error, not respecting it would be irresponsible, because it is a good accord that is essential to peace at a time where the risk of an infernal conflagration cannot be excluded,” Macron said.The French president added that he had made his position clear to both Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani when he met with them on Monday.