PAMACC News
African women attending the ongoing 3rd UN environment assembly also known as UNEA-3 had cause to erupt in rapturous applause as the long-awaited energy entrepreneurship framework for women was launched.
President of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) and Gabonese Minister of Forest, Sea and Environment, Moubelet-Boubeya launched the African Women Energy Entrepreneurs Framework (AWEEF) on the side-lines of the Global Science Business Forum at the ongoing UNEA-3 holding at the UN office in Nairobi, Kenya.
The AMCEN President, who was represented by Alice Kaudia, Kenya’s environment secretary who stood in for Prof Judi Wakhungu, Minister of environment and Natural Resources said the launching was in fulfillment of the AMCEN decision on investing in innovative environmental solutions to accelerate the implementation of the SDGs and AU’s Agenda 2063.
According to the minister, the energy entrepreneurship framework will “empower women to engage in accessible, sustainable, affordable and clean energy development and use.”
“We the African ministers for environment are committed to finding innovative environment solutions and we pledge to provide the necessary support to this initiative,” she added.
Following the successful launch of the African Women Energy Entrepreneurs Framework (AWEEF), participants at the pre-UNEA-3 event committed themselves to promoting the interpretation of the Libreville outcome statement on Women entrepreneurs and sustainable energy in Nigeria.
The 10-point commitments, according to UNEP’s Meseret Zemedkun, commit the participants to integrating AWEEF’s vision and values into Africa’s energy stakeholders initiatives; developing programmes and projects in clean and sustainable energy and energy services that are inclusive; developing integrated approaches to creating, social, economic and environmental solutions that will facilitate the achievement of global and regional development frameworks, and deploying AWEEF’s framework to mobilise resources for the implementation of projects, and programmes identified at national and regional levels.
Other commitments include encouraging multilateral and financial institutions investments in Africa with a view to appropriating financial resources to women-led, decentralised renewable energy solutions with favourable access modalities; using AWEEF’s framework to coordinate the existing and potential initiatives to build strong partnerships and synergies; provide leadership and incentivize women to be actively involved in the whole energy chain; and promoting enabling policy mechanism informed by gender analysis and age disaggregated data to accelerate the sustainable growth of micro, medium and large women-led enterprises across the energy value chain.
The members of the framework which include representatives from African governments, private sector, civil society, research institutions, women entrepreneurs and youths further commit to move from commitment to implementation in the field, complemented by robust monitoring systems; and endorse the diversity of all stakeholders while integrating progressive opinions in to the implementation process of the Libreville outcome statement.
A pollution-free vehicle for African women
Against the backdrop of significant health and safety challenges African women face in their relentless quest for energy to meet household demands and the widespread energy poverty across the continent, AWEEF recognises women as powerful agents of change in the transition to clean energy.
The energy entrepreneurship platform seeks to empower women as essential drivers in the ride to reduce green house gas emissions and lower global warming.
According to Zemedkun, “AWEEF is the vehicle African women will use in playing the change agent role across the energy value chain.”
“AWEEF will address the challenges and barriers that hinder women empowerment in the energy sector as well as implement innovative solutions that will turn around Africa’s energy story," she added.
PAMACC News
UNEA-3's Opening plenary UNEA-3's Opening plenary Over 4,000 stakeholders today converged on the green terrains of the UN office in Nairobi, Kenya to witness the opening ceremony of the 3rd United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA3).
This year’s edition of the assembly, which is the highest –level decision-making body on the environment, aspires to consider new policies, innovations and financing capable of steering the world “Towards a Pollution-Free Planet.”
The UNEA-3 brings together governments, entrepreneurs, and activists who will share ideas and commit to taking positive action against the menace of pollution. UNEA-3 aims to deliver a number of tangible commitments to end the pollution of air, land, waterways, and oceans, and to safely manage chemicals and waste, including a negotiated long-term programme of action against pollution that is linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The High-Level Segment of UNEA-3, which will take place from 5-6 December, is also expected to endorse a political declaration on pollution, aimed at outlining policy measures for, inter alia: addressing pollution to protect human health while protecting the developmental aspirations of current and future generations.
The ministerial segment will debut the interactive ‘Leadership Dialogues,’ aimed at providing participants with an opportunity for high-level engagement and discussion on how to achieve a pollution-free planet. Other UNEA-3 outcomes will include voluntary commitments by governments, private sector entities and civil society organizations to address pollution, and the ‘#BeatPollution Pledge,’ a collection of individual commitments to clean up the planet.
Discussions at UNEA-3 will draw on a background report by the UNEP Executive Director, titled ‘Towards a Pollution-Free Planet.’ The Report explores the latest evidence, as well as responses and gaps in addressing pollution challenges, and outlines opportunities that the 2030 Agenda presents to accelerate action on tackling pollution.
Welcoming delegates to the assembly, Prof. Judy Wakhungu, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Natural Resources, declared that the assembly’s focus on beating pollution is very timely as pollution increases with every effort to provide services to our citizens.
“It is time, the world addressed this challenge without delay and agree on a common goal as a pollution-free planet cannot be achieved without working together,” she said. The environment is our responsibility; it is the source of our well-being. The fate of our world depends on the quality of the care we give it,” Prof Wakhungu added.
“Our collective goal must be to embrace ways to reduce pollution drastically,” said Dr. Edgar Gutiérrez, Minister of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica and the President of the 2017 assembly. “Only through stronger collective action, beginning in Nairobi this week, can we start cleaning up the planet globally and save countless lives.”
New report on the environment
According to a new UN Environment report, everyone on earth is affected by pollution. The report entitled “Executive Director’s Report: Towards a Pollution-Free Planet” is the meeting’s basis for defining the problems and laying out new action areas.
The report’s recommendations – political leadership and partnerships at all levels, action on the worst pollution, lifestyle changes, low-carbon tech investments, and advocacy – are based on analysis of pollution in all its forms, including air, land, freshwater, marine, chemical and waste pollution.
Overall, environmental degradation causes nearly one in four of all deaths worldwide, or 12.6 million people a year, and the widespread destruction of key ecosystems. Over a dozen resolutions are on the table at the assembly, including new approaches to tackle air pollution, which is the single biggest environmental killer, claiming 6.5 million lives each year.
Over 80% of cities operate below UN health standards on air quality. The report reveals that exposure to lead in paint, which causes brain damage to 600,000 children annually, and water and soil pollution are also key focus areas.
Also, over 80 percent of the world’s wastewater is released into the environment without treatment, poisoning the fields where we grow our food and the lakes and rivers that provide drinking water to 300 million people. According to recently published report by the Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health, welfare losses due to pollution are estimated at over US$4.6 trillion each year, equivalent to 6.2 per cent of global economic output.
“Given the grim statistics on how we are poisoning ourselves and our planet, bold decisions from the UN Environment Assembly are critical,” said head of UN Environment, Erik Solheim. “That is as true for threats like pollution as it is for climate change and the many other environmental threats we face.”
Corroborating the report, Ibrahim Jibril, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Environment in his statement at the plenary averred that “pollution affects the air, soil, rivers, seas and health of Nigerians in an adverse way even though the actual cost has not been determined. Trans-boundary pollution, according to Jibril, “accounts for 28% of disease burdens in Africa.” The UNEA-3 will run from 4-6 December.
PAMACC News
UNEA-3's Opening plenary UNEA-3's Opening plenary Over 4,000 stakeholders today converged on the green terrains of the UN office in Nairobi, Kenya to witness the opening ceremony of the 3rd United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA3).
This year’s edition of the assembly, which is the highest –level decision-making body on the environment, aspires to consider new policies, innovations and financing capable of steering the world “Towards a Pollution-Free Planet.”
The UNEA-3 brings together governments, entrepreneurs, and activists who will share ideas and commit to taking positive action against the menace of pollution. UNEA-3 aims to deliver a number of tangible commitments to end the pollution of air, land, waterways, and oceans, and to safely manage chemicals and waste, including a negotiated long-term programme of action against pollution that is linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The High-Level Segment of UNEA-3, which will take place from 5-6 December, is also expected to endorse a political declaration on pollution, aimed at outlining policy measures for, inter alia: addressing pollution to protect human health while protecting the developmental aspirations of current and future generations.
The ministerial segment will debut the interactive ‘Leadership Dialogues,’ aimed at providing participants with an opportunity for high-level engagement and discussion on how to achieve a pollution-free planet. Other UNEA-3 outcomes will include voluntary commitments by governments, private sector entities and civil society organizations to address pollution, and the ‘#BeatPollution Pledge,’ a collection of individual commitments to clean up the planet.
Discussions at UNEA-3 will draw on a background report by the UNEP Executive Director, titled ‘Towards a Pollution-Free Planet.’ The Report explores the latest evidence, as well as responses and gaps in addressing pollution challenges, and outlines opportunities that the 2030 Agenda presents to accelerate action on tackling pollution.
Welcoming delegates to the assembly, Prof. Judy Wakhungu, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Natural Resources, declared that the assembly’s focus on beating pollution is very timely as pollution increases with every effort to provide services to our citizens.
“It is time, the world addressed this challenge without delay and agree on a common goal as a pollution-free planet cannot be achieved without working together,” she said. The environment is our responsibility; it is the source of our well-being. The fate of our world depends on the quality of the care we give it,” Prof Wakhungu added.
“Our collective goal must be to embrace ways to reduce pollution drastically,” said Dr. Edgar Gutiérrez, Minister of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica and the President of the 2017 assembly. “Only through stronger collective action, beginning in Nairobi this week, can we start cleaning up the planet globally and save countless lives.”
New report on the environment
According to a new UN Environment report, everyone on earth is affected by pollution. The report entitled “Executive Director’s Report: Towards a Pollution-Free Planet” is the meeting’s basis for defining the problems and laying out new action areas.
The report’s recommendations – political leadership and partnerships at all levels, action on the worst pollution, lifestyle changes, low-carbon tech investments, and advocacy – are based on analysis of pollution in all its forms, including air, land, freshwater, marine, chemical and waste pollution.
Overall, environmental degradation causes nearly one in four of all deaths worldwide, or 12.6 million people a year, and the widespread destruction of key ecosystems. Over a dozen resolutions are on the table at the assembly, including new approaches to tackle air pollution, which is the single biggest environmental killer, claiming 6.5 million lives each year.
Over 80% of cities operate below UN health standards on air quality. The report reveals that exposure to lead in paint, which causes brain damage to 600,000 children annually, and water and soil pollution are also key focus areas.
Also, over 80 percent of the world’s wastewater is released into the environment without treatment, poisoning the fields where we grow our food and the lakes and rivers that provide drinking water to 300 million people. According to recently published report by the Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health, welfare losses due to pollution are estimated at over US$4.6 trillion each year, equivalent to 6.2 per cent of global economic output.
“Given the grim statistics on how we are poisoning ourselves and our planet, bold decisions from the UN Environment Assembly are critical,” said head of UN Environment, Erik Solheim. “That is as true for threats like pollution as it is for climate change and the many other environmental threats we face.”
Corroborating the report, Ibrahim Jibril, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Environment in his statement at the plenary averred that “pollution affects the air, soil, rivers, seas and health of Nigerians in an adverse way even though the actual cost has not been determined. Trans-boundary pollution, according to Jibril, “accounts for 28% of disease burdens in Africa.” The UNEA-3 will run from 4-6 December.
A framework aimed at expanding the frontiers of African women's involvement in renewable energy is to be launched tomorrow in Nairobi, Kenya.
The framework, which seeks to reduce the access to energy deficit suffered by African women, is an initiative of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in collaboration with UN Women, the African Union and the Pan African Parliament.
In attendance at today's panel sessions on "innovative solutions to empower African women in energy sector" and "the implementation of of the Libreville outcome statement" were representatives of UN agencies, African Union and its organs, development partners, regional economic commissions, private sector, women entrepreneurs, scientists and African civil society groups led by the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA).
Dr Joanes Atela of the African Center for Technology Studies said over 70 per cent of Africans don’t have access to clean and sustainable energy, adding that this energy poverty is driven by economic poverty.
“There is a close relationship between access to energy and socio-economic development,” he said.
Dr Atela noted that women are at the center of energy needs in Africa, adding that women’s needs are much more critical in national and regional development.
Panelists and participants identified access to finance, high interest rates, absence of enabling policies and poor implementation of existing policies as some of the challenges facing African women in the energy sector.
African women's involvement in decision-making and policy processes in the energy sector remains very low in spite of increased focus on the sector.
According to experts, African women disproportionately bear the burden of energy poverty as they face significant health and safety risks from household air pollution, heavy fuel loads and lack of lighting.
Women, experts agree, can become powerful agents of change in the transition to clean energy by assuming roles in sustainable energy entrepreneurship. They can also become essential drivers in avoiding future emissions by actively contributing to climate change mitigation.
Some of the solutions the framework seeks to provide include investing and promoting clean energy and energy efficiency; innovative financing schemes; and education, research and development.
Others are technology development and transfer; partnership opportunities to finance innovation; policy harmonisation; institutional and legal measures and reforms. The framework is expected to also tackle issues of land and environment degradation, pollution, social inequality and poor legislations.
Today's sessions acknowledged the urgency in building synergies on sustainable access to finance, leveraging on cross-cutting policies where technology and finance can work together; and building the capacity of institutions that are good in generating data that can influence policies.
The framework will be launched on Sunday the 3rd of December 2017 ahead of the UN Environment Assembly, the world's highest-level decision-making body on the environment, which will hold in Nairobi, Kenya, from 4-6 December 2017.
