NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - I have the honor to represent the African Climate Policy Centre in this esteemed gathering, the first National Climate Governance Conference, which has been convened by our partner organization, the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance, to discuss national issues relating to the governance of the climate response in Kenya. We are extremely grateful to PACJA and to the Kenyan Government for hosting this conference. Kenya has developed a sophisticated framework for the governance of climate change in the Country. The Kenya Green Economy Strategy and Implementation Plan (2016-2020) is designed to guide the country’s transition to a low carbon, resource efficient, equitable and inclusive future. The plan recognizes that in order to succeed, substantial resources are required in the form of finance, investment, technology development innovation and transfer, and capacity building. It further recognizes that integration of Green Economy in the national and county planning and budgeting processes are also crucial. Climate change is cross cutting. It affects every aspect of life, and our ability to achieve the SDGs or indeed any of the aspirations of agenda 2063 is constrained by climate change. Because of its cross cutting nature, climate governance is complex. It requires the participation of multiple stakeholders, with sometimes conflicting interests. The world is heading towards catastrophe if immediate action is not taken to halt greenhouse gas emissions. As we all are aware, the IPCC yesterday released its 1.5degrees report in South Korea. The report confirms what we are already experiencing iun Africa, and is a cause for serious concern. Last night I took time to skim through the report. Some of the major findings of the report include the following: Climate change is happening at a rate much faster than previously estimated. Global warming is outstripping all our efforts to resolve it. The impacts of global warming are also already much greater than predicted, particularly in developing countries to avoid passing he 1.5 degrees guardrail, we need to reduce emissions by 45% by 2030 – we have under 12 years to achieve that. And to have a 50% chance of staying within the 1.5 degrees threshold the world must become carbon neutral by 2050, in only in only 32 years. Avoiding a catastrophe will require a major transformation of society and the world economy on an unprecedented scale Limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees will cost $2.4 trillion of investments in the global energy system every year between 2016 –2035 (this is equivalent to 2.5% of world GDP). He cost of not doing anything will be much, much higher We must all get involved in resolving this challenge We have adequate knowledge of the causes of global warming, and the science is conclusive. There is no room for climate deniers in this discourse However, the inaction that we have seen is not because there is insufficient knowledge or technology or finance. We have enough of these to be able to change the way in which we produce, distribute and consume goods…

NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - Development stakeholders from Africa have been challenged to drive strategies and mechanisms that can speed-up the climate ambition of their different countries.Different speakers at the opening of the Seventh Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA – VII) conference in Nairobi, October 10,2018, agreed that Africa must hence lead the way in the implementation of the Paris Agreement by operationalising their different nationally determined contributions in line with the Paris Agreement.According to James Murombedzi, Officer in Charge of the Economic Commission for Africa’s African Climate Policy Center (ACPC), while the Agreement is a treaty between nation states, its implementation is the challenge of the different countries in line with their Nationally Determined Contributions(NDCs) .“Africa has the potential to drive the implementation of the Paris Agreement,” he said.He notes that sustainable, inclusive and equitable development which does not increase atmospheric carbon concentrations was possible.“But for these opportunities to be realized, a lot needs to be done by the different countries”.The CCDA-VII Conference is taking place under the theme,”Climate change and development in Africa; policies and actions for effective implementation of the Paris Agreement for resilient economies in Africa” Kenya’s Environment and Forestry Minister, Keriako Tobiko called on African governments to exercise good political will to make the Paris Agreement implementation effective.“Without political goodwill recommendations from scientists as contained in the Agreement cannot be translated to policies,” Keriako said.Climate change accordingly is seriously impacting in many African countries making life perilous for especially the vulnerable population, women, children, reason why the implementation of the Paris Agreement is more than urgent.“The implementation of the Paris Agreement remains a priority for the continent in order to adapt to the inevitability of climate variability and change. It is however important to emphasize that achieving the goals of the Agreement require committed leadership from state and non-state actors,” the Minister said.Among other actions, countries were enjoined to integrated green economy in the development action plans.“Integration of green economy and other innovative carbon free investments in national action plans have today become critical,” Murombedzi said.He also ccommented on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels.The reports he said, means that there is a chance for a stable climate system which will allow for sustainable development but only if we do manage to halt emissions in the projected time frame.“This added implies doing two things, the first to halt emissions and to have an organized transition to a carbon neutral future in the shortest time possible. And the second to restructure our economies to ensure sustainable development without further emissions,” Murombedzi said.He said it has been demonstrated that in addressing these challenges, there were opportunities to be harnessed. James Kinyangi of the AfDB and the ClimDev Fund, for his part disclosed an ambitious Climate Action Change Plan for the period 2016-2020 for the Bank. He said the plan explores modalities for achieving adaptation, the adequacy and effectiveness of climate finance,…

NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has called on African leaders to work in unity to be able to combat effects of climate change.Saying that climate change is a matter of life and death for Africa and the continent has experienced devastating and unprecedented impacts of climate change on its peoples' lives and livelihoods and national economies. “Given that our shared ecosystems and natural resources know no boundaries, it is essential that we continue to speak in one voice to safeguard the basis of our development and seek transformative solutions,” Uhuru said last week. In a speech read on his behalf by Environment Cabinet Secretary KeriakoTobiko, Uhuru said Africa is the most vulnerable continent despite contributing only about four per cent to global greenhouse gas emissions. Tobikoread the speech when he represented the President to launch the three-day 7th Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA-VII) in a Nairobi hotel.The conference is convened by Government, in collaboration with Climate Development (CLIMDEV) Africa Partners, Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) and Think Renewables from Canada. However, the President said climate change threats present opportunities for innovative and green investments for Africa. “This is why implementation of the Paris Agreement remains a priority for the continent in order to adapt to the inevitability of climate variability and change,” Uhuru said He said that achieving the goals of the Agreement require committed leadership from state and non-state actors. “The theme of this year’s forum, “Policies and actions for effective implementation of the Paris Agreement for resilient economies in Africa”, reflects our collective engagement and commitment to strengthen climate change actions in the context of Africa’s development priorities,” Uhuru said. He called on Africa to use the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on Global Warming of 1.50C special report and its impacts in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty released this week.The President said 2018 is a critical year for the operationalization of the Paris Agreement. The nature and extent of parties’ obligations will only be clear once negotiations on the Paris Rule Book are complete, and hopefully adopted in COP 24, in Katowice, Poland in December 2018,” Uhuru said. He noted that for Africa to address effects of climate change, it needs adequate and predictable resources be mobilised and made available to support adaptation and mitigation action in Africa and other developing world. Kenya has put in place an enabling policy and legal environment for climate change implementation and has a greenhouse gasemission reduction target of 30 per cent by 2030.“Our National Climate Action Plan (2018-2022) identifies disaster risk management, food and nutrition security, water and the blue economy, forestry, wildlife and tourism, health, sanitation and human settlements to help us tackle climate change,” Uhuru said. The President as part of tapping into the opportunities in biodiversity, Kenya will hosting the first Sustainable Blue Economy Conference next month to promote sustainable investments…

The International community has been reacting positively to the just released report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) calling for urgent actions to save the planet from worsening climate disasters. Environment actors say the long-awaited special report on global warming of 1.5C is expected to bring urgency to the upcoming climate talks."We need urgent action and the report is timely enough" says Mithika Mwenda, SG of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance, PACJA, co-organisers of the seventh Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa October 10-12, 2018.The IPCC report confirms that limiting the rise in global temperatures to 1.5°C would be significantly better than breaching the 2°C threshold, supporting calls for a definitive stop to fossil fuel use and a rapid transition to energy systems based on 100% renewable energy.Reacting to the IPPC report, the secretariat of the UN Climate Change, UNFCCC welcomes the call that will unlock practical actions and contributions towards the Paris Agreement’s goals, noting that governments have set a deadline for themselves to finalise the agreement’s implementation guidelines at the annual UN Climate Change Conference this December in Katowice, Poland.“These guidelines will build trust by ensuring transparency. They will enable each country to act and contribute, they will allow all of us to see what each country is doing, and they will allow us to have full clarity on the provision of support, especially climate finance now and in the long-term,” UNFCCC secretariat said in an October 8,2018 press release.Officials of the World Meteorological Organisation have saluted the report calling on different governments and other actors to act fast.“ There is need to act fast to save the world from worsening climate disasters,” says Petri Taalas of the World Meteorological Organisation.The report calls on the need to stop fossil fuel extraction and redirect resources on renewable energy. “The science in the IPCC report on 1.5°C speaks for itself. Staying under 1.5ºC is now a matter of political will. Burying our heads in the sand cannot be contemplated as an option any longer. The climate crisis is here and already impacting the most vulnerable and the least responsible for creating it. The only way to achieve it is to stop all fossil fuel extraction and redirect the massive resources currently spent on the fossil fuel economy towards the renewable energy transition”.Apolos Nwafor of OXFAM international says, ” there is need to speed up finances to carry out actions that will benefit of our children, the farmers and many others impacted by the growing effects of climate change.”Communities worldwide are already resisting fossil fuel development and calling for a deep transformation of our energy systems and economies. Some of these stories of resistance can be found in the newly released People’s Dossier on 1.5°C. The Dossier puts faces and voices onto the facts and data provided by the IPCC special report. It contains the stories of 13 communities fighting on the frontlines of climate change: from young Pacific Islanders trying to stop the Adani mega-mine…