PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
AU appeals to foreign actors to jointly combat climate change disasters
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) – The African Union (AU) has launched a universal appeal to foreign actors to join African countries in fighting the causes of desertification through increased investments in climate adaptation mechanisms in order to free more funds currently being sunk in adapting to drought.
The AU Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, Jossefa Sacko, said on Friday, the slow implementation of the Paris Climate Change agreement, in which countries agreed to set aside funds to fight the impact of drought and climate change, was leading to more suffering and displacements.
“We believe we can make a bigger impact on climate change with additional funding from the developed countries. We appeal to the industrialised world to realise that more needs to be done in cutting emissions and financing the adaptation to climate change,” Sacko told reporters in Addis Ababa.
The AU official said although countries were struggling to mobilise domestic funds to fight the impact of drought and desertification, the cost was much higher for poor countries to effectively respond.
According to the Commissioner, African countries were currently putting aside an equivalent of 2% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to respond to the impact of climate change and drought in their countries, among them, the degradation of land, heat and flooding in several countries.
“We do not have the financial means to do what is required of us. We appeal to the each party of the Paris Agreement to provide funding,” the AU official told reporters.
The AU official spoke a day before African heads of state and government descend on the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, to begin robust talks on how to handle the issue of refugees and forced displacement of populations in Africa.
According to the AU statistics, a third of the worldwide number of the displaced populations live in Africa, which include 6.3 million refugees and asylum seekers and 14.5 million internally displaced persons, which makes it important to focus on the prevention of conflicts and seek durable solutions.
Commissioner Sacko said the AU has recognised three initiatives focusing on the adaptation to climate change, agriculture and renewable energy initiatives to respond to climate change impacts.
Some of these initiatives which bring durable solutions to the victims of climate change could be addressed through access to climate change funds, which the AU decried as too little to make an impact given the huge needs from across the continent, where population displacements still remain rife.
“If we use these adaption mechanisms, we will address the climate change issues. Some of these measures include the investments in the green wall initiative being financed by the AU,” Sacko said.
-0- PANA AO/MA 8Feb2019
The AU Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, Jossefa Sacko, said on Friday, the slow implementation of the Paris Climate Change agreement, in which countries agreed to set aside funds to fight the impact of drought and climate change, was leading to more suffering and displacements.
“We believe we can make a bigger impact on climate change with additional funding from the developed countries. We appeal to the industrialised world to realise that more needs to be done in cutting emissions and financing the adaptation to climate change,” Sacko told reporters in Addis Ababa.
The AU official said although countries were struggling to mobilise domestic funds to fight the impact of drought and desertification, the cost was much higher for poor countries to effectively respond.
According to the Commissioner, African countries were currently putting aside an equivalent of 2% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to respond to the impact of climate change and drought in their countries, among them, the degradation of land, heat and flooding in several countries.
“We do not have the financial means to do what is required of us. We appeal to the each party of the Paris Agreement to provide funding,” the AU official told reporters.
The AU official spoke a day before African heads of state and government descend on the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, to begin robust talks on how to handle the issue of refugees and forced displacement of populations in Africa.
According to the AU statistics, a third of the worldwide number of the displaced populations live in Africa, which include 6.3 million refugees and asylum seekers and 14.5 million internally displaced persons, which makes it important to focus on the prevention of conflicts and seek durable solutions.
Commissioner Sacko said the AU has recognised three initiatives focusing on the adaptation to climate change, agriculture and renewable energy initiatives to respond to climate change impacts.
Some of these initiatives which bring durable solutions to the victims of climate change could be addressed through access to climate change funds, which the AU decried as too little to make an impact given the huge needs from across the continent, where population displacements still remain rife.
“If we use these adaption mechanisms, we will address the climate change issues. Some of these measures include the investments in the green wall initiative being financed by the AU,” Sacko said.
-0- PANA AO/MA 8Feb2019
