BAKU, Azerbaijan (PAMACC News) - The Fund for responding to Loss and Damage is now ready to accept contributions after the signing of key documents. The Fund will serve as a lifeline by providing critical and urgent support for those impacted by the devastating consequences of climate change. With this important milestone reached, the Fund is now expected to start financing projects in 2025. A ceremony at COP29 in Baku celebrated the signing of the Trustee Agreement and the Secretariat Hosting Agreement between the Board of the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage and the World Bank, as well as the Host Country Agreement between the Fund Board and the Fund Board’s host country, the Republic of the Philippines. The Presidency is working with all countries that have pledged money to complete their contribution agreements as soon as possible. At the November 12 event, Sweden pledged 200M kr (approximately $19M) to the Fund, subject to government approval. This significant contribution brings the total pledged funding to more than $720M. The COP29 Presidency thanked Sweden for answering the call to action and continues to urge further pledges to the Fund to better meet the needs of communities on the frontlines of climate change. Loss and damage has been a key priority in the COP29 Presidency’s plan to enhance ambition and enable action. The Presidency has pushed for progress across all parts of the loss and damage landscape throughout the year. Today’s vital win for climate vulnerable communities is the result of years of work across borders and organizations. Parties made significant progress at COP27 in Egypt and COP28 in the UAE by establishing and providing for the operationalization of the Fund. This year, the COP29 Presidency has worked intensively with the Fund Board and the World Bank, alongside donor countries, to complete the preparations for today’s breakthrough. This includes hosting the third meeting of the Fund Board in Azerbaijan in September, where significant progress was made to operationalize the Fund, laying the groundwork for disbursing the much-needed financial support starting in 2025. The selection of Ibrahima Cheikh Diong as the Fund’s Executive Director further enhanced the institutionalization of the Fund. These developments will build momentum as Parties work to reach a balanced package of outcomes at COP29. “This progress will allow us to finally turn pledges into real support. That means that funding will be able to flow in 2025. We should reflect on what this breakthrough will mean for real people. It means houses being rebuilt, people being resettled, and lives and livelihoods saved,” said COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev. “But our work is not done. Now, the Fund needs to identify projects to get support flowing. All countries that have pledged money must complete their contribution agreements. And we need more pledges so we can meet the urgent needs of climate change victims.” “Today demonstrated again the power of global solidarity in advancing climate action. We must keep the momentum to ensure that the Fund reaches countries in need…

NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - Kenya is one of the African countries that are keen on implementation of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) with a hope of reducing the greenhouse gas emission by 32% come the year 2030 compared to the business-as-usual scenario The NDCs are the climate action plans and commitments by individual countries under the Paris Agreement on climate change. The main aim is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere, while adapting to the impacts of the changing climatic conditions. In Kenya, the NDC is extremely important because the country’s economy is deeply intertwined with climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, tourism, and energy. Prolonged droughts, erratic rainfall, and rising temperatures have significantly affected crop production, food security, and livelihoods, particularly among the rural population. “In this country, climate change is estimated to cost between 3% to 5% of GDP annually – this really hampers us and makes it difficult for the country to take the opportunity to give its citizens the services they require,” said Michael Okumu of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry Climate Change Directorate during a workshop a UNDP in Nairobi. So far, Kenya has developed several policies that will be instrumental in implementation of the NDC. The National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP) III 2023 – 2027 for example, is the third five-year plan that presents the detailed priority actions that Kenya will embark on to address climate change in the medium-term planning period and contribute to the achievement of our NDC under the Paris Agreement. According to President William Ruto, the government of Kenya is keen to continue implementing the Climate Change Act (No. 11 of 2016), which provides the framework for compliance with the Paris Agreement, and Kenya’s (2020) updated NDC. “The Climate Change Act is central to our climate actions at both the national and county government levels,” said President Ruto in a statement. “It is important to note the progress made by county governments in the last five years in the enactment of county-level climate legislation that establishes Climate Change Funds and ward climate change committees, and provides for allocation of a minimum percentage of development budgets to finance locally-led climate actions,” he said. The National Adaptation Plans (NAP) is another policy instrument that seeks to identify medium- and long-term adaptation needs, informed by the latest climate science. Kenya’s NAP process objectives are to highlight the importance of adaptation and resilience building actions in development, and to integrate climate change adaptation into national and county level development planning and budgeting processes. The process is also used to enhance the resilience of public and private sector investment in the national transformation, economic and social and pillars of Vision 2030 to climate shocks, to enhance synergies between adaptation and mitigation actions in order to attain a low carbon climate resilient economy, and as well to enhance resilience of vulnerable populations to climate shocks through adaptation and disaster risk reduction strategies. According to the UNDP, countries can utilize the NAP process…

HARARE, Zimbabwe (PAMACC News) - African policy makers, local leaders and the private sector have been asked to create an enabling environment that will help African traders and farmer folks build reliable systems for food security and resilience through territorial markets. During a week-long 2024 Africa Agroecological Entrepreneurship and Seed Festival in Harare, Zimbabwe, experts observed that persistent crises have shown the importance of resilient close-to-home ‘territorial’ markets that feed billions of people every day – from public markets and street vendors to cooperatives, from urban agriculture to online direct sales, and from food hubs to community kitchens. “For instance, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, global food prices spiked by 15%, forcing policy-makers around the world to question how to reduce dependency on volatile global markets and strengthen food self-sufficiency,” said Dr Million Belay, the General Coordinator at the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA). “Further, questions have been raised about how people are actually fed, and by whom, prompting us to ask: in this century of crisis, what kinds of food supply chains and markets can build resilience, and help fulfil the right to food – nourishing people around the world more sustainably and equitably?,” paused Belay. To answer the question, experts are calling for policies and sound working environment that will empower territorial markets that promote dietary diversity and affordable nutritious foods for all, allows producers and food workers to retain control over their livelihoods, and food that is adaptable to climate chocks and emerging crises. These markets have been broadly defined as markets that are centred on small-scale agroecological food producers and business owners that produce and sell a variety of commodities, and often meet preference of majority of farmers, traders and consumers. Studies have shown that these markets play a crucial role in making food accessible and affordable, especially for low-income populations in the Global South, allowing for the purchase of small and flexible quantities of food, price bargaining, informal credit arrangements, and being located in or near low-income neighbourhoods. A new study launched on the sidelines of the Harare event that culminated into the fifth Biennial Africa Food Systems Conference, however, shows that profit oriented corporate value chains are highly concentrated in Africa’s market places The report, titled ‘Food from Somewhere,’ by the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES Food) finds that just seven grain traders control at least 50% of the global grain trade, six major corporations control 78% of the agrochemical market, the top eight carriers of freight account for more than 80% of the market for ocean freight capacity and globally, 1% of the world’s largest farms control 70% of the world’s farmland. This, according to experts, amounts to a corporate capture of Africa’s food systems. The report is therefore advocating for a paradigm shift, urging governments to reinvest in local and regional supply infrastructure, relocalise public purchasing and food security strategies for a more resilient and equitable approach to food security. “The problem for smallholders is not…

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (PAMACC News) - A report, "Towards Africa's Prosperity: Creating Conditions for Socially Inclusive, Environmentally Sustainable and Well-Governed Continent”, to assist African countries to accelerate and ensure the successful implementation of Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063 on the continent has been published by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). The report is a response to the call by World Leaders in January 2020 for a "Decade of Action" to accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. UN Secretary-General António Guterres further emphasised this by launching 'Our Common Agenda', which focuses on foresight analysis and involves looking ahead and examining how significant change can be achieved. These calls for action came amid worsening global economic problems caused by the disruptive effects of COVID-19, the crisis triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the escalating climate crisis. These issues have led to global hunger, limited access to essential health services, poor educational quality, gender inequality, violent conflicts, vulnerability to natural disasters, and climate change. Africa is the worst-affected region, posing a threat to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established in 2015. The SDGs are designed to enhance global shared prosperity and improve people's lives by 2030. Therefore, the Report aims to help African countries address these challenges and accelerate the desired implementation of Agenda 2030, which aligns with the goals of Agenda 2063 of the African Union(AU). The report assessed four major themes: Africa's economic and social conditions, a comprehensive definition of prosperity, scenario casting through a macroeconomic model on options for achieving prosperity in Africa by 2030, accelerators of Africa's development, and the role of governance institutions in economic transformation. The report identifies the critical ‘game changers’ that could accelerate Africa’s development process in achieving the key goals of Agenda 2063 and Agenda 2030. Some of these include the urgent and imperative need for an agricultural revolution that would harness the continent's green resources to feed itself and become a net exporter of agricultural products and processed agricultural goods. Others include "Developing human capital," "Expanding and upgrading infrastructure and logistics," "Unleashing entrepreneurship and private sector development," "Ensuring gender equality and equal opportunities," "Harnessing the urban advantage," "Acceleration of regional integration and trade," "Mobilising financial resources," and "Ensuring environmental sustainability as a foundation for prosperity." The report suggests pathways to accelerate progress towards achieving prosperity in Africa by 2030, aligning with Agenda 2063's vision. It includes promoting inclusive political and economic governance, improving the capacity, autonomy and accountability of economic and political institutions, addressing disparities between the rich and poor, applying fiscal and monetary policies judiciously, creating incentives for enterprises, modernising technology and infrastructure, prioritising investing in technology and accessing global knowledge, and leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The report highlights that governance institutions—economic and political—are essential for sustainable development and socio-economic transformation in Africa. Key political institutions include the judiciary, human rights bodies, and participatory entities like Parliament. Economic institutions encompass national planning, resource management, and accountability…