Three young climate activists have filed a lawsuit against Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Turkey and Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, by taking legal action due to the inadequacy of Turkey's climate target under the Paris Climate Agreement. Turkey produced 403.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (MtCO2) emissions in 2021. This was a year-on-year increase of 8.1 percent, and the first year that emissions accelerated and peaked in Turkey since 2017. The country's coal-fired power stations are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions by Turkey at 103 Mt in 2021. Over a kilogram of CO 2 is emitted for every KWh of electricity generated in Turkey by coal-fired power stations. Atlas Sarrafoğlu (16), Seren Anaçoğlu (20) and Ela Naz Birdal (17), young climate activists who have been campaigning for years for Turkey to fight stronger against the climate crisis, have filed a lawsuit against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, claiming that the updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted by Turkey as a climate target is insufficient, asserting that this is climate inaction rather than climate action. Underlining the lack of a transparent process in the preparation of this statement, they demanded the cancellation and renewal of Turkey's unscientific, ineffective and inadequate climate target. Young people defending their right to the future also launched a petition at change.org/climatelawsuit.There are many similar climate lawsuits around the world. Six Portuguese young people had filed a complaint against 33 countries, including Turkey, accusing them of failing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.After Turkey submitted its updated NDCs to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat, Atlas Sarrafoğlu, Seren Anaçoğlu and Ela Naz Birdal said "Unfortunately, this declaration is not a commitment to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, but an increase. Turkey is a country of climate disasters and we, as young people, want our future to be secured with a stronger climate goal." They have become the pioneers of the first climate lawsuit filed against the Presidency and the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, regarding Turkey's decisions on greenhouse gas emissions under the Paris Climate Agreement.Atlas Sarrafoğlu, a climate activist since the age of 11, made the following statements about the climate lawsuits they filed: "I came to a different world than my elders, a world caught in a series of disasters that trigger each other. It is an existential crisis. We are burning our planet with our own hands. The use of fossil fuels should have been abandoned a long time ago, but as long as governments and big corporations prefer their power and money to the future of humanity, we will not be able to prevent this crisis. As a young climate activist, I want emissions to be reduced in line with the Paris Agreement, which Turkey signed too late. Children and young people are currently at the greatest risk, even though they did not cause the climate crisis. Therefore, I do not accept an environment…

NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - The African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN) has welcomed efforts by the African group of Negotiators Expert Support (AGNES) to address Africa’s climate science knowledge gaps in relation to the continent’s contribution to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). AGN Chair, Ephraim Mwepya Shitima says Africa’s technical negotiators have been yearning for scientific-based evidence to be informed from an African perspective. “The IPCC is the designated scientific voice on climate science; it is therefore critical for our continent, which contributes very little and yet suffers the most, to be well represented in this body of science,” he says. “As AGN, we support every effort that African institutions such as AGNES, are making to improve the continent’s participation in the climate science discourse. This is particularly important for technical negotiators who have been yearning for scientific-based evidence to be informed from an African perspective.” In an effort to close the identified science knowledge gap, AGNES, in collaboration with the Kenya Meteorological Department, Kenya’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MEF), the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) and other scientists/experts from Africa are convening in Nairobi to discuss important climate science knowledge gaps that are unique to the continent. The meeting is seen as an opportunity for African scientists and experts to identify priority areas critical for the continent, and suggest inclusion during the Seventh Assessment Report (AR7) outline scoping plenary. The main aim is to stimulate and catalyse research activities geared towards addressing the identified knowledge gaps and provide an opportunity for greater involvement of African scholars/scientists. Officially opening the meeting in Nairobi on Tuesday (18/04/2023), Principal Secretary at the Kenyan State Department of Environment and Climate Change, Eng. Festus Ng’eno emphasised the importance of ensuring that Africa’s voices are loud enough in the climate science discourse considering the continent’s vulnerability to negative impacts of climate change. “The products in the 6th assessment cycle show an improvement in the representation of African issues, however there is still a major room for improvement,” he said. “It is alarming that only 11% of authors of the assessment report are from Africa despite Africa being one of the world’s most vulnerable continents to the impacts of climate change. It is crucial to ensure that African voices are well-represented when finding solutions, crucial too is the inclusion of the role of indigenous and local knowledge systems as well as adequate gender representation.” While climate change is a global problem, Africa suffers its consequences disproportionately due to its limited capacity to cope. To make the matters worse, the continent contributes less than 4% to global warming emissions. It is for this reason that there is a clarion call for Africa to be well supported in terms of adaptation finance as well as ensuring the continent’s voices are loud enough in the climate science discourse and on the negotiation table. Experts across Africa have identified three main barriers to the continent’s scientists and scholars’ active participation and representation in the…

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, (PAMACC News) - The government of Tanzania, the African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org), and the French Development Agency (AFD) have signed agreements for two development project loans worth $300 million. The funds will finance the construction of the 87.8-megawatt Kakono Hydropower Plant located in Kagera region in the northern part of Tanzania. The project also received a grant of EURO 36 million from the European Union. Tanzania is dependent on hydropower and thermal power plants—mainly gas-fired—for its electricity supply. However, it has considerable untapped renewable energy potential to meet its rapid growth while taking a low-carbon path. A coalition of development partners are financing the Kakono Hydropower Project, intended to increase renewable generation capacity and reduce hydrological risk via a dam located on a new watershed that is less affected by droughts. The signing ceremony took place on the 15th of March 2023 in Dar es Salaam. The Kakono Hydropower Plant is the result of close collaboration between the African Development Bank, Agence francaise de developpement, and the European Union. These institutions are co-financing this project with a $ 161.47 million African Development Bank soft loan, a EURO 110 million soft loan from French Development Agency, and EURO 36 million grant from the European Union. The Kakini Hydropower Project which will be implemented by Tanzania's Electricity Supply Company (TANESCO), will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 216,065 metric tons per year, and comply with the best international environmental and social standards. The project will serve 4 million people and increase the service coverage rate by around 7% of the population. It is expected to have a major impact on the economic development of this rapidly growing zone, which lies at the heart of the Great Lakes region. This project will boost industrialization and spur economic growth in Tanzania and the neighboring countries and will strengthen Tanzania’s leading position within the East African Community. Alongside construction of the new hydropower plant, there will also be associated infrastructure built, including the upgrading of the existing Kyaka substation and a new 39-kilometer 220-kilovolt transmission line, and capacity building support for TANESCO. Following the ceremony participants expressed their support for the project. African Development Bank Country Manager for Tanzania Patricia Laverley observed that when completed, the Kakono Hydropower Plant would serve approximately four million people, small-medium enterprises, and mining companies in the northwestern part of the country. She added: “The construction of the new power plant will help to improve TANESCO’s financial sustainability arising from the decommissioning of the diesel-based power plants in the Kagera Region. The economic benefits derived from the supply of affordable power will be immense. We can expect to see marked improvement in the quality of life for people in the Kagera region and in Tanzania more broadly. These tremendous gains will contribute to building a more competitive economy in Tanzania, under the leadership of President Samia Suluhu Hassan.” Ambassador Nabil Hajlaoui said: “We have heard President Samia Suluhu’s message. She aims to generate 5 gigawatts of electricity…

NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - Members of the governing council of the African Forest Forum, AFF have expressed the need for ambitious transformational actions by all actors in forestry in Africa, including regional and sub-regional organizations , other stakeholders, to achieve the institutions goals and targets of raising the profile of African Forestry. Accordingly, one of the core functions of the AFF is to strengthen high level political engagement, with the participation of major groups and other stakeholders in support of sustainable forest management. “ African Forest Forum commits to sustainable management, wise use and conservation of Africa’s forest and tree resources for the socio-economic well-being of its peoples and for the stability and improvement of its environment,” reads the organizations release at the 18th session of the governing council meeting in Nairobi Kenya 30-31 March, 2023. In this regard, the governing council and the technical support team in their working document outlined work plan blue print with proposals that will improve forest management, reversing the loss of forest cover, enhancing forest-based economic, social, and environmental benefits and mobilizing financial resources and strengthening scientific and technical cooperation; promoting governance frameworks to advance implementation of both local and regional projects. According to Mcarthy Oyebo President of AFF governing council, the organization should forge ahead with its mission of information sharing and expertise,” create an enabling environment for independent and objective analysis, advocacy and advice on relevant policy and technical issues pertaining to achieving sustainable management, use and conservation of Africa’s forest and tree resources as part of efforts to reduce poverty, promote economic and social development and protect the environment” Opening the session, the chair announced the inclusion of new members into the council from the media, research and academia. AFF he said was the real power house in forestry thinking in Africa, calling on the body map out innovative ways to make to make forest part of the continent’s economy. “The potential of forestry to pull investors and drive the economy of the continent is huge. The myriad of opportunities in the forestry sector should be fully exploited. Investors want to see return of their investments, so AFF should look beyond conservation and think business” Mcarthy said. According to AFF executive secretary, the organization has since creation been spearheading a series of pan-African initiatives on how forest and trees can be better conserved to supports livelihoods, improve national and individual incomes and the environment, adding that Africa Forest Forum main focus has always been centering on people and the environment they live in. “The forests and trees outside the forests are resources that must be managed sustainably and used judiciously. This is the only way we can address the needs of the people and improve the environment,” Prof. Godwin Kowero said at the opening of the session. Among other things, AFF has been looking at how African countries are integrating climate change adaptation and mitigation options in the forestry sector and how this process is progressing. It has also looked…