BONN, Germany (PAMACC News) -  Civil society organisations across the globe working to fight climate change in different countries have called on governments to use the climate talks in Bonn to pick up from the ashes in Marrakech and push for progress in the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

Like the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance, PACJA,  the Climate Action Network (CAN) and other prominent civil society groups have added their voice to that of other development actors, to see the Paris Agreement make significant progress that brings measured hope and pointed actions.

At a side event focused on ensuring robust transparency mechanism in the implementation of the Paris Agreement Framework, PACJA programme officer, Sam Ogallah emphasised on the need to leverage the expertise of Non-Party stakeholders to better ensure transparency.

Information to the press released by CAN-France at the ongoing the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,UNFCCC, Climate conference in Bonn-Germany highlights the expectations of civil society groups with emphasis on the need to move forward from the ashes of COP 22 in Marrakech.

Sven Harmeling, Climate Change Advocacy Coordinator at CARE International, emphasised that ''the urgency to get the Paris Agreement off the ground is crucial given that impacts from climate change are becoming more glaring with more droughts in Africa and heat waves in India.''

He said the scale of ambition has to be commensurate with the urgency that are seen from impacts.

Speaking on the specifics of advancing work on implementation, he added, "We also need to see Parties at Bonn bring more clarity and progress on accounting modalities for climate finance which was a left-over issue from Marrakech."  

Brandon Wu, policy director from ActionAid US, highlighted that as uncertainty on the US' position on the Paris Agreement continues, civil society groups urge the Trump administration to stay in the Agreement but it must also respect the spirit of the Agreement to meet the goals of Paris.

"Even at the current scenario we don't meet the goals of keeping warming to 1.5 degrees C and any move to scale down ambition will definitely not meet this goal- which is what Paris is all about," he added. There has been a remarkable push from Governors and Mayors to keep the US in the Agreement, he added.

Lucile Dufour of CAN-France spoke about the victory of Emmanuel Macron and it's implications to climate action.

"Although Macron did not make energy transition a priority during his campaign, he is unlikely to stop environment progress. Without a push from other leaders and civil society he will not increase ambition so we still have work ahead of us. He said France will keep the lead in global climate progress.

"If he is to do this he needs to adopt climate policies to increase international solidarity and domestic policies to raise ambition."

KUMASI, Ghana (PAMACC News) - A new report has found that the complex risks arising from climate change, fragility and conflict can contribute to the emergence and growth of terrorist groups, like Boko Haram and ISIL.

The new report: “Insurgency, Terrorism and Organised Crime in a Warming World”, by Berlin-based think tank, Adelphi, found that climate change multiplies and interacts with existing threats, risks and pressures, like resource scarcity, population growth and urbanization.
Report author, Lukas Rüttinger, said these factors together could lead to fragility and violent conflict in which these groups can thrive.

“Already vulnerable areas could get pulled into a vicious cycle, leading to the rise of terrorist groups who will find it easier to operate, with consequences for us all,” Rüttinger said.

Terrorist groups are increasingly using natural resources – such as water – as a weapon of war, controlling access to it, further compounding and exacerbating resource scarcities. The scarcer resources become, the more power is given to those who control them, especially in regions where people are particularly reliant on natural resources for their livelihoods.

For example, around Lake Chad, climate change contributes to resource scarcities that increase local competition for land and water. This competition in turn often fuels social tensions and even violent conflict.

At the same time, this resource scarcity erodes the livelihoods of many people, aggravates poverty and unemployment, and leads to population displacement. Terrorist groups such as Boko Haram gain power in this fragile environment.

As climate change affects food security and the availability of water, and land, affected people will become more vulnerable not only to negative climate impacts but also to recruitment by terrorist groups offering alternative livelihoods and economic incentives.

Sometimes, terrorist groups try to fill the gap left by the state by providing basic services to build support among the local population. As climate impacts worsen, some states will increasingly struggle to provide services and maintain their legitimacy.

The report comes as famine, drought and war threaten millions in the region around Lake Chad, in Africa. On March 31, the UN Security

Council passed a resolution on the Lake Chad region – home to Boko Haram – outlining their concern about the interplay of factors leading to the crisis there and calling for better collaboration amongst UN armed to deal with the situation.

The resolution, which also calls for the UNSG to issue a report on the crisis, came after UNSC ambassadors visited the region recently.

The report echoes the UN’s findings. It finds that dealing with climate change, boosting development and strengthening governments will reduce the threat of terrorism.

It also says climate action, development, counter terrorism strategies and peace building should be tackled together holistically – rather than in isolation which they are often are at present and which risks making each of the factors worse.

Other recommendations include improving the rule of law and strengthening local institutions to help reduce the risk that climate change presents to the rise and growth of terrorist groups, as well as being a core component of adaptation and peace building writ large.

People who are vulnerable to recruitment by terrorist groups are often reliant on agriculture for their livelihoods, so development efforts should focus on ensuring those livelihoods are sustainable in a changing climate.

Lastly, cities are often the pressure valve when climate, conflict and fragility occur – building resilient cities will therefore minimize the chances of tensions spilling over.

“A broader perspective will help to better address the root causes of the rise and growth of non-state armed groups,” Rüttinger said.

KAMPALA, Uganda (PAMACC News) - African Parliamentarians challenged to push for a climate change legislative agenda African parliament through the Pan African Parliamentarian Network has been urged to initiate and influence a continental legislative agenda that will push climate change policies in their different countries.

African civil society organizations, Ugandan government representatives and other development stakeholders meeting at a regional consultative forum on Post Marrakech and the implementation of the Paris.

 Agreement April 19-21 in Kampala, Uganda were unanimous that the role of African parliamentarians in driving an African agenda for climate change was capital.

Hon Chebet Malkut, UNFCCC focal point and head of climate change department in the ministry of Environment and water in Uganda pointed out that putting in place the appropriate policies and institutional framework to drive Africa’s climate change agenda was cardinal.

This challenge he said falls squarely on the shoulders of African legislators who need to partner with civil society organizations led by PACJA for assured results.

“I believe a cross fertilization of ideas between African parliamentarians and civil society organizations will ease this task and this forum set the stage for such a project,” Chebet said.

The coordinator of PACJA-Uganda, Florence Kasule for her part lauded the interest and participation of a significant number of parliamentarians from Uganda in the forum, an indication of their interest in the climate fight.

“This a clear indication of the increasing engagement of legislators to drive through policies that will improve the fight against climate change,” she said.

Civil society experts hammered on the need to build alliances that will improve the momentum behind the climate change drive in Africa.

“Building a strong and united front in the fight against climate change is the way forward,” says PACJA secretary general Mithika Mwenda at the official opening of the regional COP22 consultative workshop.

He highlighted the growing threats to the climate change Paris Paris agreement with continuous shifting global politics and political ecological economy.

“ The implementation of the Paris Agreement faces the biggest threat from the United States after the stunning election of Danald Trump whose campaign platform hinges on the repeal of the Clean Air Act,” Mithika said.

He also criticized his appointment of an anti-climate administrator to the Environment Protection Agency, an indication of future roadblocks to climate change drive, he said.

Other speakers at the forum call on the need for a strong African voice that will influence climate actions on the ground, moving policies to realizable development projects especially in the areas of climate smart agriculture, renewable energy and other adaptable infrastructure.

“ Besides other priorities, climate change infrastructure projects should be at the top and this is the role of our legislators and civil society organizations to drive this agenda,” says Dr Mauwa Shadad.

The participants underscored the remarkable effort of PACJA in the coordination of CSO climate change policy processes and interventions across Africa With focused reflection and coordinated review of the COP 22  Marrakech outcome and Paris Agreement regime.

In some of the recommendations reached at the Kampala forum, the participants noted the continent’s conviction of moving from Commitment to Action with Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) demonstrated by ratifying the Paris Agreement and its consequent entry into force, enhancing the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

They also showed deep concern about the continuous neglecting of adaptation needs of developing countries and inadequate levels of public climate finance, limited access to adaptation finance such demonstrated by the imbalance between financing of mitigation  and adaptation  within the Green Climate Fund.

Emphasis was also laid on the renewable energy drive considered to be the locomotive to drive Africa’s development pathways.

According to Njamnshi Augustine of PACJA Cameroon, Africa needs to break from the past and build stronger resilience for the fight against climate change to succeed.

KUMASI, Ghana (PAMACC News) - President Trump’s Executive Order on Climate Change will have far reaching impacts on many developing countries, especially on the African continent, which is already bearing the brunt of the negative impacts of climate change.
 
African Civil Society, under the umbrella of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), says reversing the Obama climate plan is one of the greatest injustices and an onslaught on Mother Earth, especially in the fight against climate change.
 
The Energy Independence Executive Order, signed by US President, Donald Trump on March 29, 2017, has been hailed by groups in the fossil fuels business, but condemned by environmental campaigners as over a dozen measures enacted by President Obama to curb climate change have been suspended.
 
“Trump’s Climate Change Executive Order is rolling back the many years of global efforts that yielded the Convention and the Paris Agreement. The global community and other world leaders should resist the temptation of following the footstep of Trump to take the world several steps back in the fight against climate change,” said Mithika Mwenda, PACJA Secretary-General.
 
For a safer world, countries that are party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement will urgently need to raise their ambition to increase the level of their greenhouse emission reduction targets communicated to the UNFCCC and keeping the global temperature to below 1.5OC.
 
The current aggregate level of the communicated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are estimated to lead to the average global temperature increase above 30C by 2030, unless radical emissions reduction targets are urgently adopted by Parties.
 
The NDC of the United State of America submitted to the UNFCCC on March 31, 2015 commits USA to cutting its greenhouse gas emissions by 26%–28% below the 2005 level by 2025.
 
The US effort constitutes a part to the global comity of nations’ efforts to keep the planet safe.
 
“As one of the major contributors to the greenhouse gas emissions, the US continues to owe a huge ecological debt that can only be paid by the demonstration that it is committed to servicing this climate debt in an equitable, fair and just manner. Such efforts should align with the principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibility and Respective Capacity (CBDRC) of the Convention,” said a statement from PACJA.
 
African Civil Society is worried efforts to improve people’s vulnerability to climate change are being eroded by Trump’s Executive Order.
 
Currently, impacts of drought and famine in the Horn of Africa have led to deaths of humans and livestock in the region. Farmers in most parts of the Africa are feeling impacts of the changing climate in their agricultural production and productivity.
 
According to Sam Ogallah, Programme’s Manager at PACJA, Trump's action on climate change is likely to exacerbate the current migrant crisis.
 
"Climate change impacts are pushing many youth out of developing countries in search of better lives in developed countries. Some of these youth in an attempt to migrate to Europe have lost their lives. Addressing climate change in developing countries can go a long way to solving migrant crisis in Europe and other developed countries,” he said.