Members of African Civil Society organisations on Climate change are worried that President Donald Trump may derail his country’s progress towards implementation of the Paris Agreement that seeks to slow global warming, which was coined particularly to accommodate the United States of America.

“The Paris agreement was weakened because we were looking for a treaty that the US President could sign by Executive Instrument, since it is usually very difficult for US to be party to a legally binding treaty that require ratification by the Congress,” said Dr Seth Osafo, the Legal Adviser to the African Group of Negotiators at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

However, with the president’s latest moves to dismantle the legacy of his predecessor Barrack Obama, CSO representatives are afraid that even after accepting to weaken the treaty, Trump is likely to withdraw from the process.

Their worries are complicated by the fact that during his campaigns, Trump had indicated that "the concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make US manufacturing non-competitive."

“He is a climate denier and that is very unfortunate for the entire world,” said Mithika Mwenda, the Secretary General for the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance during a workshop to review the 22nd Conference of Parties (COP 22), which was held in Marrakech, Morocco.

In one of the presidential debates, Trump further said that the issue of climate change is an issue that requires further probing, and that money used to fight the phenomenon should be channeled to other uses.

"There is still much that needs to be investigated in the field of climate change. Perhaps the best use of our limited financial resources should be in dealing with making sure that every person in the world has clean water. Perhaps we should focus on eliminating lingering diseases around the world like malaria,” said Trump.

Perhaps, he continued, “We should focus on efforts to increase food production to keep pace with an ever-growing world population. Perhaps we should be focused on developing energy sources and power production that alleviates the need for dependence on fossil fuels. We must decide on how best to proceed so that we can make lives better, safer and more prosperous.”

To cement his words, he has already selected a close ally of the fossil fuel industry to head up the environment department, which analysts say may do a big blow to president Obama’s progress on climate change.

So far, in less than fortnight after his inauguration, the President has already changed the federal government’s approach to the environment by clearing the way for two major oil pipelines that had been blocked by his predecessor.
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Cleaner fuel to reduce air pollution for more than quarter of a billion people

ABUJA, Nigeria (PAMACC News) - Five West African countries have agreed to ban importing Europe’s dirty fuels, a move that will dramatically reduce vehicle emissions and help more than 250 million people breath safer, cleaner air.

Together, the countries of Nigeria,Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Cote d’Ivoire agreed on 1 December in Abuja, to introduce strict standards to ensure cleaner, low sulfur diesel fuels and vehicles emissions standards, effectively cutting off Europe’s West Africa market to export its dirty fuels.

A report by Public Eye in September this year exposed how European trading companies were exploiting the weak regulatory standards in West African countries, allowing for the export of fuels with sulfur levels up to 300 times higher than is permitted in Europe.

Erik Solheim, the head of UN Environment said: “West Africa is sending a strong message that it is no longer accepting dirty fuels from Europe. Their decision to set strict new standards for cleaner, safer fuels and advanced vehicle emission standards shows they are placing the health of their people first.
“Their move is an example for countries around the world to follow. Air pollution is killing millions of people every year and we need to ensure that all countries urgently introduce cleaner fuels and vehicles to help reduce the shocking statistics.”

Alongside the introduction of the new standards, the West African group has agreed to upgrade the operations of their national refineries, both public and privately owned, to produce fuels of the same standards by 2020.

UN Environment has been supporting countries in West Africa to develop policies and standards to stop the practice of importing fuel with dangerously high sulphur levels and introduce cleaner fuels and vehicles.Reducing the emissions of the global fleet is essential for reducing urban air pollution and climate emissions. A combination of low sulfur fuels with advanced vehicles standards can reduce harmful emissions of vehicles by as much as 90 per cent.

Nigeria’s Environment Minister Amina J Mohamed said: “For 20 years Nigeria has not been able to address the vehicle pollution crisis due to the poor fuels we have been importing. Today we are taking a huge leap forward – limiting sulphur in fuels from 3000 parts per million to 50 parts per million, this will result in major air quality benefits in our cities and will allow us to set modern vehicle standards.”

In The Hague today, Minister Amina J Mohamed will join Minister Lilianne Ploumen, the Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, to take stock of the progress that is being made in improving the quality of fuels being exported from Dutch ports to West Africa.

Minister Ploumen of The Netherlands, where much of the dirty fuels that are being imported to West Africa come from, said: “The recent report from the NGO Public Eye made abundantly clear that coordinated action is needed to stop the practice of exporting dirty fuels to West Africa. I am very pleased West African governments quickly decided to introduce standards that will help accessing European standard quality fuels. Their people deserve cleaner air, better health and a cleaner environment. I commend UN Environment for their excellent work.”

UN Environment is hosting the Secretariat of the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV); a global public-private partnership that supports a shift to cleaner fuels and vehicles world-wide.

When the Partnership started its work on promoting low sulfur fuels in 2005, not a single low- and middle-income country used low sulfur fuels. Today,23 countries have shifted to low sulfur fuels and another 40 are on their way. Last year, East African countries moved to low sulfur fuels and the decision by West African countries to follow suit will add a further five to the total number of countries that have achieved low sulfur fuels.

UN Environment is also hosting the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, whose members recently adopted a global strategy for moving the world to clean low sulfur fuels and advanced emissions standards, which would save an estimated 100,000 premature deaths per year by 2030.

Cleaner fuel to reduce air pollution for more than quarter of a billion people

ABUJA, Nigeria (PAMACC News) - Five West African countries have agreed to ban importing Europe’s dirty fuels, a move that will dramatically reduce vehicle emissions and help more than 250 million people breath safer, cleaner air.

Together, the countries of Nigeria,Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Cote d’Ivoire agreed on 1 December in Abuja, to introduce strict standards to ensure cleaner, low sulfur diesel fuels and vehicles emissions standards, effectively cutting off Europe’s West Africa market to export its dirty fuels.

A report by Public Eye in September this year exposed how European trading companies were exploiting the weak regulatory standards in West African countries, allowing for the export of fuels with sulfur levels up to 300 times higher than is permitted in Europe.

Erik Solheim, the head of UN Environment said: “West Africa is sending a strong message that it is no longer accepting dirty fuels from Europe. Their decision to set strict new standards for cleaner, safer fuels and advanced vehicle emission standards shows they are placing the health of their people first.
“Their move is an example for countries around the world to follow. Air pollution is killing millions of people every year and we need to ensure that all countries urgently introduce cleaner fuels and vehicles to help reduce the shocking statistics.”

Alongside the introduction of the new standards, the West African group has agreed to upgrade the operations of their national refineries, both public and privately owned, to produce fuels of the same standards by 2020.

UN Environment has been supporting countries in West Africa to develop policies and standards to stop the practice of importing fuel with dangerously high sulphur levels and introduce cleaner fuels and vehicles.Reducing the emissions of the global fleet is essential for reducing urban air pollution and climate emissions. A combination of low sulfur fuels with advanced vehicles standards can reduce harmful emissions of vehicles by as much as 90 per cent.

Nigeria’s Environment Minister Amina J Mohamed said: “For 20 years Nigeria has not been able to address the vehicle pollution crisis due to the poor fuels we have been importing. Today we are taking a huge leap forward – limiting sulphur in fuels from 3000 parts per million to 50 parts per million, this will result in major air quality benefits in our cities and will allow us to set modern vehicle standards.”

In The Hague today, Minister Amina J Mohamed will join Minister Lilianne Ploumen, the Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, to take stock of the progress that is being made in improving the quality of fuels being exported from Dutch ports to West Africa.

Minister Ploumen of The Netherlands, where much of the dirty fuels that are being imported to West Africa come from, said: “The recent report from the NGO Public Eye made abundantly clear that coordinated action is needed to stop the practice of exporting dirty fuels to West Africa. I am very pleased West African governments quickly decided to introduce standards that will help accessing European standard quality fuels. Their people deserve cleaner air, better health and a cleaner environment. I commend UN Environment for their excellent work.”

UN Environment is hosting the Secretariat of the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV); a global public-private partnership that supports a shift to cleaner fuels and vehicles world-wide.

When the Partnership started its work on promoting low sulfur fuels in 2005, not a single low- and middle-income country used low sulfur fuels. Today,23 countries have shifted to low sulfur fuels and another 40 are on their way. Last year, East African countries moved to low sulfur fuels and the decision by West African countries to follow suit will add a further five to the total number of countries that have achieved low sulfur fuels.

UN Environment is also hosting the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, whose members recently adopted a global strategy for moving the world to clean low sulfur fuels and advanced emissions standards, which would save an estimated 100,000 premature deaths per year by 2030.

A la salle 1 du pavillon Afrique de la COP 22 à Marrakech, il était question le mercredi 9 novembre 2016, de l’Initiative africaine pour les énergies renouvelables (IAER, en anglais : AREI). Ce plan de développement énergétique de l’Afrique, lancé il y a un an à Paris bénéficie d’un réel soutien des bailleurs de fonds, du secteur privé et de la société civile africaine.

Au COP21 en France, l’annonce de l’IAERavait peut-être fait quelques sceptiques. Mais au Maroc, l’adhésion africaine s’est faite sentir pour accompagner cet ambitieux projet vers l’installation d’une capacité énergétique renouvelable à grande échelle sur le continent africain d’ici 2020. Ce qui aurait un impact considérable sur la réduction des émissions de gaz à effet de serre du continent.

« C’est ce type d’initiative dont nous avons besoin », a réagi heureuxTosiMpanuMpanu, Président du groupe des Pays les moins avancés (PMA), dont l’Afrique compte 34 Etats sur les 42 membres. « C’est un projet qui apporte des solutions. Il permet de renforcer la coopération entre les pays. Il nous faut travailler la main dans la main pour sa réalisation. Ce plan doit mieux servir les PMA africains et identifier les besoins des autres PMA sur les autres continents », s’est-ilréjoui

Pour SokonaYouba, vice-président du Groupe d’experts intergouvernemental sur l’évolution du climat (Giec) et un des initiateurs de l’Initiative, l’IAER doit donner l’électricité à tous les africains, tout en combattant le changement climatique.

« Notre ambition est de produire 300 GW d’électricité en 2030. Ce n’est rien du tout. Car nous devons satisfaire le maximum de personnes », a-t-il avancé, appelant à une coopération intra-régionale sur les projets. « Tout type d’énergie renouvelable doit être promu. Nous devons mobiliser les capacités en Afrique, les renforcer là où il n’existe pas. Nous avons un calendrier à respecter », a prévenu Youba.

Début du financement

Pour accompagner ce vaste projet, un certain nombre d’engagements avait été pris dans la capitale française en décembre 2015 et commence à se traduire en acte. Le 6 novembre 2016, le gouvernement français et la Banque africaine de développement (BAD) ont signé à Abidjan, un accord d’un montant de 6 millions d’euros (7,8 millions de dollars) pour la mise en œuvre de l’IAER. Ces ressources doivent permettre de mettre sur pied l’Unité d’exécution de l’Initiative, que la BAD s’est proposée d’héberger.

Lors du panel du mercredi, le Directeur du département financier de la BAD,StéphaneNalletamby a confirmé l’engagement de l’institution à encadrer l’Initiative. « La BAD a désormais un département dédié aux énergies renouvelables et va accompagner la mise en œuvre des CPDN (Contributions déterminées au niveau national). La Banque soutient le projet de l’Initiative et nous y investirons 2 milliards de dollars entre 2017 et 2020 », a annoncé Nalletamby.

Il est à souligner qu’au moins 5 milliards de dollars des États-Unis de financement public ainsi que de financement à des taux préférentiels de sources bilatérales, multilatérales et autres, y compris le Fonds vert pour le climat, seront nécessaires entre 2016 et 2020 pour exercer un effet de levier sur 15 milliards de dollars pour d’autres investissements, pour un total d’au moins 20 milliards de dollars investis à l`horizon 2020.

Secteur privé et société civile : Une partition à jouer

Présents dans la salle 1 du Pavillon Afrique, le secteur privé et la société civile ont perçu les enjeux de s’approprier l’Initiative. Mais ils souhaitent y jouer un rôle majeur.

« D’abord, ce qui serait intéressant, c’est de regrouper les acteurs du secteur privé, qui sont pour beaucoup des commerçants. Ensuite, il va falloir que le secteur privé soit à l’endroit où les décisions sont prises en termes d’orientation. Ce ne sont pas de bons samaritains, ils viennent se faire de l’argent. Enfin, nous avons besoin d’encadrement, de renforcement de capacités », a indiqué Fatima Dia, chargé du secteur privé au Conseil patronal du Sénégal.

Un plaidoyer dans lequel s’est inscrit Kouamé Kondo, membre de la l’organisation Amis de la terre Afrique : « Le projet donne espoir, avec l’engagement des chefs d’Etats. Cependant, la participation de la société civile doit être effective. Elle doit faire partie du Conseil d’administration de l’Initiative afin de représenter les populations, Il est important qu’on y mette l’accent ».

En réponse à ces différents acteurs du continent, le vice-président du GIECleur a lancé un appel. « Faites parties du succès, de ce rêve. Ce n’est pas une question de bavardage. Une autre table ronde des ministres est prévue pour voir la faisabilité du projet et nous pensons qu’ils vont faire avancer les choses. Alors, même si vous (société civile et secteur privé)ne faites pas partie du Conseil d’administration, accompagnezle projet », a plaidé Dr Youba.