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…

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (PAMACC News) - Bringing new technologies to smallholder farmers who are the end users is critical to driving agricultural production in Africa and Cameroon in particular, says the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) programme. Speaking at the launching of the second phase of the TAAT programme in Yaounde, Cameroon, October 24, 2023, Dr Christopher Suh, head of TAAT programme in Central African region says “ there is urgent need to accelerate the transformation of African agriculture and efficiency along agrifood chains.” He says though farmers are increasingly using innovative approaches combined with traditional knowledge, there is a need to take the shifts further to boost food production and nutrition quality and build climate resilience. “ In the second phase of the programme, we envisage accelerating the agriculture transformation process. We have all the experts to put their knowledge at the doorsteps of farmers and policymakers,” he said. He cited technologies like hybrid rice, maize, cassava, and fish to add value and reduce post-harvest losses. This was corroborated by Cameroon’s Minister of Agriculture, who sees the programme as a blessing not only in the Central African sub-region but the continent as a whole. “ The Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation is a major continental-wide initiative designed to boost agriculture productivity across the continent by rapidly delivering proven technologies to millions of farmers,” the Agric Minister, Gabrielle Mbairobe said at the opening of the launching. Accordingly, TAAT is the brainchild of the African Development Bank (AfDB). The first phase was launched in 2018, focusing on the deployment of innovations, training and the dissemination of path-breaking initiatives and inputs for farmers and other stakeholders in the sector. “These were achieved through government-supported projects financed by the AfDB and other donor agencies,” Dr Suh said. It should be recalled that in July 2022, the AfDB announced it would disburse an additional $27.41 million (nearly CFA18 billion FCFA) for phase II implementation in beneficiary countries. According to TAAT, the initiative generally is geared at increasing the productivity and income of farming households in 36 low-income African countries and giving them access to climate-resilient technologies. Specifically, the aim is to double the productivity of crops, livestock, and fisheries by making proven technologies available to more than 40 million agricultural producers by 2025. "This will make it possible to produce an additional 120 million tons of food and lift 130 million people out of poverty," according to AfDB. In Cameroon, the program focuses on improving the production of maize, cassava, soybeans, rice, high-iron beans, and fish. According to Dr Suh, through TAAT phase I, Cameroon was able to produce 3.5 million tons of pre-basic seed and 105.5 million tons of basic corn seed. In addition, some farmers have been trained in fry production, and over 100,000 fries have been produced locally. "In the first phase, Cameroon missed out on certain areas because we were not sufficiently sensitised about the programme. That's why we organised this awareness-raising workshop and launch of phase II in Cameroon,…

NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - Investments in forest conservation for carbon removal and enhancement are key for climate change mitigation. African forest experts are pushing to better use demonstrably high-quality forest carbon credits as a crucial tool in the urgent fight against climate change. President of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Razan Al Mubarak noted that "climate change can be seen as symptom of man’s mismanagement of nature, (and therefore) nature-based solutions must be taken seriously to drive the fight against climate change." "The importance of forest and pitland in the fight against climate change cannot be over-emphasised. We need synergy of efforts to raise awareness and ambition, push the drive for a fair carbon mechanism," she said during a side event at the Nairobi Climate Summit under the theme; ‘Forests and carbon credits, opportunities and challenges in tapping climate finance for investment in Africa." Panelists at the discussions agreed on growing investor interest in forest-based climate mitigation, including forest carbon credits and benefits through reducing greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) in Africa in general and the Congo Basin in particular. But they also acknowledge the problem of financing these forest and nature based solutions to climate change. "Countries of the Congo-Basin like the DRC are putting up strong pitland policies amidst challenges of inadequate financing for the required research. We need to work with scientists and other stakeholds to better understand the full potential of the rich pitland ecosystem. But we must have the finances to achieve this " says Jean Jacque Bambota head of pitland unit with the Ministry of Environment and sustainable development , DRC. He challenged scientists in Africa to embark on incisive research to discover the carbon potential of the pitlands in their different ecological zones. IUCN President noted that nature is the critical infrastructure through which the needs of Africa can be met if well invested in, harnessed and protected. Africa according to IUCN statistics she said has 40 million hectares of pitland and 670 million hectares of forest. "These rich natural endowments come with significant return if we invest right and protect sustainably," Razan said. Some government authorities at the panel discussions, called for faire carbon mechanism and increased public sector engagement for the interest of population, especially the local communities. According to the Minister of Environment and nature protection of Congo Brazaville, Arlette Soudan-Nonault ,many African universities are working together to foster research of the real potentials of pitlands like the case of Congo Brazaville. " We are working with the different scientific communities to establish real data. But we also need clear guidance on good policy implementation practices, " she said. Reforming methodologies for constructing and measuring reference levels, such as deforestation rates, could improve integrity and credibility in REDD+ projects that, in general, can require millions of dollars in upfront investments, she noted. Panelists argued the need for a just forest transition and consensus is carbon price fixing between the supplier and…