Researched by: Edmund C. Gbarwee/Nimba D-9 TV/Public Health Reporter/nimbad9tv2018@gmail.com
Luxor, Egypt Africa: – The Liberian Delegation on Climate Parliament continued its participation in the Climate Change Conference today in Luxor, Egypt. In the break-up Sessions, Hon. Rosanna Schaack spoke on the need for women, children, and disadvantaged people to be considered in policies crafted by Parliamentarians to address the effects of climate change. She called on Parliamentary colleagues to recognize the role of women and the vulnerability of children and disadvantaged people when putting in place measures to mitigate climate change which could adjust lifestyle of citizens.
Meanwhile, Hon. Johnson N. Gwaikolo addressed the participants on the need to reconsider terms and conditions of instruments that govern investments in African countries. He said Africa may not be poor, rather it may be broke because of the ways agreements are written which give greater latitude to investors. He concluded that Parliamentarians must take that into consideration as their countries award contracts for renewable energy investments.
Hon. Gwaikolo further served on the panel to discuss roles of Members of Parliament to promote transition to renewable energy.
According to Power Shift Africa, The UN COP27 summit takes place on the frontlines of the converging climate, food, energy, health and debt crises: Africa. This presents a need and opportunity like never before to galvanise immediate, on-the-ground action in the countries that most need it.
The summit, in Egypt in November, comes in a year of new weather extremes, food shortages, fossil fuel price spikes and a rising cost of living, with Russia’s fossil fuel-financed war on Ukraine further stoking the crises.
So far this year, Africa has seen floods and storms kill hundreds of people across the south, triggering electricity shortages, disrupting freight operations and devastating homes and livelihoods. Meanwhile, drought has caused famine for millions of people in the Horn of Africa.
Here is what you need to know about Africa’s COP27, and how it could spur action towards sustainable food systems and climate adaptation and mitigation.
The UN’s 27th annual Conference of the Parties (COP27) takes place in Sharm El-Sheikh from 6-18 November, presided over by Egypt’s Foreign Affairs Minister Sameh Shoukry.
Egypt’s summit theme is ‘implementation’. It aims to shift the focus from negotiations and planning to action on the ground, where it is most needed. It wants to ramp up adaptation to climate change impacts, in parallel with emission reductions. It also hopes to highlight both Africa’s need for immediate climate action and its role in facilitating and mobilizing action at scale.
This summit needs to push countries, the private sector and local governments to deliver on promises already made, strengthen them in line with science, and help developing and emerging economies overcome barriers to finance and build long-term climate action capacity.
This is also the time for major polluters to accelerate their phasedown of coal, oil and gas. Russia’s war on Ukraine makes clear the danger of relying on fossil fuels. Russia’s exports are financing its war machine, while the tightening of global supplies has caused energy shortages and cost of living spikes around the developed and developing worlds.
Meanwhile COP26, in Glasgow in 2021, saw a wave of new promises from countries, the private sector and local governments. Yet, commitments still fall short of what the science says is needed to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5C. On top of that, countries are already backsliding in response to the economic downturn and war in Ukraine.
COP27 needs to deliver on five key areas in order to galvanise action.
- Finance: wealthy countries need to show that they are working to meet their promise to mobilize US$100 billion per year in public and private climate finance by 2020, and set out plans to scale it up. They agreed to this at COP26. Finance should be split equally across emissions reductions efforts – such as helping developing countries expand their clean energy systems – and adaptation and resilience work.
- Emission cuts: The COP26 decision made clear that national emission reduction plans need to be aligned with a 1.5C temperature limit, and most major polluters have committed to reach net zero emissions by mid-century. But emissions have yet to fall.