Africa faces the challenge of sustaining growth amid weak global conditions

Sub-Saharan Africa countries are continuing to grow, albeit at a slower pace, due to a more challenging economic environment. Growth will slow in 2015 to 3.7 percent from 4.6 percent in 2014, reaching the lowest growth rate since 2009, according to new World Bank projections.

These latest figures are outlined in the World Bank’s new Africa’s Pulse, the twice-yearly analysis of economic trends and the latest data on the continent.

The 2015 forecast remains below the robust 6.5 percent growth in GDP which the region sustained in 2003-2008, and drags below the 4.5 percent growth following the global financial crisis in 2009-2014. Overall, growth in the region is projected to pick up to 4.4 percent in 2016, and further strengthen to 4.8 percent in 2017.

Sharp drops in the price of oil and other commodities have brought on the recent weakness in growth. Other external factors such as China’s economic slowdown and tightening global financial conditions weigh on Africa’s economic performance, according to Africa’s Pulse. Compounding these factors, bottlenecks in supplying electricity in many African countries hampered economic growth in 2015.

“The end of the commodity super-cycle poses an opportunity for African countries to reinvigorate their reform efforts and thereby transform their economies and diversify sources of growth. Implementing the right policies to boost agricultural productivity, and reduce electricity costs while expanding access, will improve competitiveness and support the growth of light manufacturing,” says Makhtar Diop, World Bank Vice President for Africa.

According to Africa’s Pulse, several countries are continuing to post robust growth. Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Rwanda and Tanzania are expected to sustain growth at around 7 percent or more per year in 2015-17, spurred by investments in energy and transport, consumer spending and investment in the natural resources sector.

Gains in Poverty Reduction

Africa’s Pulse found that progress in reducing income poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa has been occurring faster than previously thought. According to World Bank estimates poverty in Africa declined from 56 percent in 1990 to 43 percent in 2012.  At the same time, Africa’s population saw progress in all dimensions of well-being, particularly in health (maternal mortality, under-5 mortality) and primary school enrollment, where the gender gap shrank.

Yet African countries continue to face a stubbornly high birth rate, which has limited the impact of the past two decades of sustained economic growth on reducing the overall number of poor. Countries still lag behind those in other regions in making progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). For example, Africa will not meet the MDG of halving the share of population living in poverty between 1990 and 2015.

Weaker Commodity Prices

Sub-Saharan Africa’s rich natural resources have made it a net exporter of fuel, minerals and metals, and agricultural commodities. These commodities account for nearly three-fourths of the region’s goods exports. Robust supplies and lower global demand have accounted for the decline of commodity prices across the board. For instance, the drop in the prices of natural gas, iron ore, and coffee exceeded 25 percent since June 2014, according to the report.

Africa’s Pulse notes that overall decline in growth in the region is nuanced and the factors hampering growth vary among countries. In the region’s commodity exporters—especially oil-producers such as Angola, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Nigeria, as well as producers of minerals and metals such as Botswana and Mauritania, the drop in prices is negatively affecting growth. In Ghana, South Africa, and Zambia, domestic factors such as electricity supply constraints are further stemming growth. In Burundi and South Sudan threats from political instability and social tensions are taking an economic and social toll.

Fiscal deficits across the region are now larger than they were at the onset of the global financial crisis, the report finds. Rising wage bills and lower revenues, especially among oil-producers, led to a widening of fiscal deficits. In some countries, the deficit was driven by large infrastructure expenditures. Reflecting the widening fiscal deficits in the region, government debt continued to rise in many countries. While debt-to-GDP ratios appear to be manageable in most countries, a few countries are seeing a worrisome jump in this ratio.  

“The dramatic, ongoing drop in commodity prices has put pressure on rising fiscal deficits, adding to the challenge in countries with depleted policy buffers,” says Punam Chuhan-Pole, Acting Chief Economist, World Bank Africa and the report’s author. “To withstand new shocks, governments in the region should improve the efficiency of public expenditures, such as prioritizing key investments, and strengthen tax administration to create fiscal space in their budgets.” 

Moving Forward

Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa will be repeatedly tested as new shocks occur in the global economic environment, underscoring the need for Governments to embark on structural reforms to alleviate domestic impediments to growth, the report notes. Investments in new energy capacity, attention to drought and its effects on hydropower, reform of state-owned distribution companies, and renewed focus on encouraging private investment will help build resiliency in the power sector. Governments can boost revenues through taxes and improved tax compliance. Complementing these efforts, governments can improve the efficiency of public expenditures to create fiscal space in their budget.

African countries show commitment to a fair and binding climate deal in Paris

African countries have made some bold and strong targets in their climate action pledges to the UN climate change negotiation process, showing fierce commitment to reducing global emissions.

According to Mithika Mwenda, Secretary General of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), though Africa bears the brunt of climate change impacts, adaptation has been given as much focus as mitigation in countries’ targets.

Adaptation is crucial to protecting and promoting development gains, especially in Africa.

The Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) is an important part of the ongoing process.

As at the October 1, 2015 deadline for parties to submit their INDCs, 47 out of 54 African countries have submitted their national plans for the UN climate deal.

Comoros has made the most ambitious target of an 84% reduction in emissions by 2030, whilst Ethiopia, one of the first African countries to submit has pledged, has a 64% reduction on business as usual emissions by 2030.

“Such bold commitments show that Africa’s potential to reduce emissions is great, even though it has contributed the least to building these levels in the first place,” said Mithika. “These action plans should empower and support our people to build their resilience to the devastating impacts of climate change”.

All of Africa’s climate action plans are premised on getting the means of implementation and adequate resources from developed nations; not just in terms of finance, but in technology transfer and enhancing the capacity of African nations to meet their climate pledges. 

“Whatever policy measures we put in place cannot be at Africa’s cost alone. It’s affecting the whole world, everyone is affected, and we all have to chip in,” said the PACJA Secretary General. “Civil society in the North must start to unite and put pressure on their governments to commit to a fair and just agreement for the world, not just for Africa”.

African civil society will be holding their governments to account on committing new resources from national budgets for investment to help people adapt and build climate resilience. As well as getting the necessary contributions from other countries, strong leadership and coordination amongst responsible agencies is imperative to guarantee their effective implementation and to achieve the intended levels of ambition. 

African civil society wants world leaders to deliver strong commitments to close the funding gap and help Africa adapt to the devastating effects of climate change.

“They should ensure that Paris delivers a fair, ambitious and binding deal at a level adequate to stop climate change and keep global warming well-below 1.5°C,” said Mithika.

Yet with two months to go until countries aim to strike a global climate pact in Paris, collective commitments do not meet the internationally agreed limit of 2C. Governments will need to focus on revising their goals from 2025 onwards to avoid the catastrophic effects of climate change worsening still. 

“Paris starts things, it’s not an endpoint. Heads of State need to work together to see firm and equitable policies implemented as we move towards 2020 and beyond. We’re talking about saving lives here. The world has a unique opportunity to collectively turn one of the biggest challenges facing humankind into one of the greatest opportunities to build a healthy planet.”

Africa’s climate pledges are as follows:

Botswana: 10% emissions cut by 2030, from a 2010 baseline. Cost estimate US$18.4 billion.

Cameroon: Cut emissions up to 32% by 2035 on business as usual, depending on international support.

Sierra Leone: Pledges to keep emissions "relatively low" (close to 7.58MtCO2e) by 2035, or achieve neutrality by 2050, conditional upon international support. 

Guinea: A 13% reduction on emissions by 2030, compared to 1994 levels, excluding land use and forestry, conditional upon international support.

Togo: Emissions cuts of 11% from business as usual by 2030, rising to 31% with international support. Price tag US$3.5 billion.

Lesotho: An unconditional 10% reduction in emissions compared to a business-as-usual scenario by 2030, or a conditional reduction of 35% by 2030, dependent on international support.

Mozambique: Estimated emissions cuts of 76.5 MtCO2eq over 2020-30, from business as usual

Liberia: Emissions cuts of 15% from business as usual by 2030, subject to international support.

Rwanda: Target still under development. US$24 billion price tag for water, energy and agriculture measures.

Malawi: Mix of policies could cut per capita use from 1.4t CO2e in 2010 to 0.7-0.8t in 2030, if fully implemented, compared to increase to 1.5t under business as usual.

Zimbabwe: Plans to keep per-capita emissions from energy sector 33% below business as usual by 2030, provided there is sufficient support.

Burundi: Aims to cut greenhouse gases 3% below business as usual by 2030, rising to 20% on international support.

Sao Tome and Principe: Cut emissions 24% by 2030 on 2005 levels. Country is a net carbon sink.

Guinea Bissau: Aims to boost renewables' share of the energy mix to 80% by 2030 and develop a national reforestation programme by 2025. Section on adaptation includes to increase protected area coverage from 15 to 26%.

Congo: Cut emissions by 48% by 2025 and 55% in 2035 below business as usual levels.

Tanzania: cut emissions by 10-20% below business as usual by 2030.

Zambia: Emissions cuts of 25% from business as usual by 2030 with domestic resources, costed at US$15 billion, increasing to 47% with an estimated $35bn of international support.

Namibia: An 89% cut to greenhouse gas emissions from business as usual by 2030, mainly through reducing deforestation. Price tag: US$33 billion.

Swaziland: Aims to double the renewable share of its energy mix by 2030, compared to 2010 levels. Also pledges to develop a national emissions inventory, baseline and business as usual projections, in order to draw up a national mitigation goal by 2020.

Mauritania: 22.3% emissions cuts by 2030 below business as usual, of which five-sixths hinges on international support. Total cost for mitigation and adaptation estimated at US$17.6 billion.

Cote d’Ivoire: 28% emissions cut below 2012 levels by 2030.

Cape Verde: Will specify GHG cuts from energy sector in second half of 2016, sets targets to achieve 100% grid access by 2017. Renewable energy penetration to rise to 3o% by 2025, or up to 100% on international finance.

Niger: Commits to cut GHGs 3.5% below business as usual by 2030, rising to 34.6% with international support

Benin: Aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions 3.5% below business as usual levels by 2030, rising to 21.4% with international support. Budget to meet mitigation and adaptation goals is US$ 30 billion, $2.32 billion of which Benin will provide.

Mali: Cut emissions from agriculture 29%, energy sector 31%, land-use change 21% below business-as-usual by 2030.

Chad: Cut emissions by 18.2% below business as usual by 2030, rising to 71% on international support

Mauritius: 30% emissions cut by 2030 compared to business as usual, subject to international support.

Central African Republic: Reduce emissions 5% on business as usual levels by 2030. Total cost of $3.69 billion; $3.46 relies on international cash.

Burkina Faso: An unconditional pledge to reduce emissions by 6.6% below business-as-usual levels by 2030, with a further 11.6% reduction conditional upon international support. Includes interim pledges for 2020 and 2025.

Gambia: A 44% emissions cut by 2025, compared to business as usual projections, and a 45% cut by 2030. 

Senegal: GHG cuts of 6% by 2030 from business as usual, rising to 31% on international finance. Cost of plan comes to $21.5 billion.

South Africa: Aims to ‘peak, plateau and decline’ emissions by 2030, requires $53 billion for adaptation to climate impacts.

Seychelles: Will slash emissions 29% on a business as usual basis by 2030, costing an estimated $309 million

Madagascar: 14% cuts on business as usual by 2030.

Eritrea: An 80.6% reduction in emissions by 2030, compared to business-as-usual levels. 39.2% of this is unconditional, and can be financed using domestic resources.

Ghana: 15% emission cuts on business as usual by 2030.

Equatorial Guinea: Cut emissions by 20% by 2030 compared with 2010 levels.

Comoros: 84% cut in GHG emissions by 2030 on business-as-usual.

Tunisia: 13% cut in carbon intensity by 2030 from 2010 levels, rising to 41% with international cash

Algeria: 7% unconditional cut to greenhouse gas emissions from business as usual by 2030, rising to 22% with international support

Democratic Republic of Congo: 17% GHG cuts by 2030 on 2000 levels, covering agriculture and forests, conditional on $21 billion of support.

Djibouti: Cut emissions 40% from business as usual by 2030 using domestic resources, or another 20% with international support. Take measures to adapt to increasing risk of water scarcity.

Kenya: 30% greenhouse gas emissions cut from business as usual by 2030; “significant priority” placed on adapting to climate impacts.

Ethiopia: 64% greenhouse gas emissions cut by 2030 on business as usual.

Morocco: 32% greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 on business as usual.

Gabon: 50% greenhouse gas cuts by 2025 compared to business as usual. The INDC also includes plans for a national carbon market and a domestic green fund.

COP 21 Paris: Ghana will need $22.6 billion to implement its climate actions

Ghana needs $22.6 billion in investments from domestic and international public and private sources to finance its climate mitigation and adaptation actions.

The country’s 31 programme of actions will drive the strategic focus of a “10-year post-2020 enhanced climate action plan” that would be developed after the 21^st Conference of Parties (COP21) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Paris.

This is contained in Ghana’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) submitted on September 23, 2015 to the UNFCCC, ahead of the deadline.

An INDC is a government's proposed 'contribution' to the UNFCCC as to what it will do about climate change.

The Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC invited parties to communicate to the secretariat their INDCs well in advance of the Paris climate summit in December 2015 “in a manner that facilitates the clarity, transparency and understanding of the INDCs.

As at October 1, there were 108 submitted INDCs on the UNFCCC website, including that of Ghana.

Ghana’s INDC is anchored on the medium-term development agenda (Ghana Shared Growth Development Agenda II – GSGDA 2), National Climate Change Policy and the Low Carbon Development Strategy, as well as the anticipated 40-year long-term development and the universal sustainable development goals.

According to the document, “the proposed measures to achieve the INDC goal will build on existing measures and strategies”.

In all, 20 mitigation and 11 adaptation programme of actions in 7 priority economic sectors are being proposed for implementation in the 10-year period (2020-2030).

The implementation of the actions are expected to help attain low carbon climate resilience through effective adaptation and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction in the priority sectors: Sustainable land use including food security; Climate proof infrastructure; Equitable social development; Sustainable mass transportation; Sustainable energy security; Sustainable forest management; and Alternative urban waste management.

Mitigation Goal

Ghana’s emission reduction goal is to unconditionally lower its GHG emissions by 15 percent relative to a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario emission of 73.95MtCO₂e by 2030.

An additional 30 percent emission reduction is attainable on condition that external support is made available to Ghana to cover the full cost of implementing the mitigation action (finance, technology transfer, capacity building).

With this external support, a total emission reduction of 45% below the BUA emission levels can be achieved by 2030.

The total investment cost for implementing the 20 transformational mitigation actions is $9.81 billion – representing 45% of the total investment. Out of this, Ghana will mobilize $2.02 billion (21% of the total investment cost) to finance the two unconditional INDCs. An additional $7.79 billion will be needed to finance the remaining 18 mitigation actions in order to achieve more ambitious emission reductions in the 10 year period.

Adaptation Goal

The long-term goal of Ghana’s adaptation is to increase climate resilience and decrease vulnerability for enhanced sustainable development.

Ghana will require $12.79 billion for adaptation – $4.21 billion (34%) will be mobilized at the national level, whilst the remaining $8.29 billion is the international contribution Ghana is looking for in order to meet the cost of implementing its adaptation actions.

Adaptation under Ghana’s INDC is informed by: good governance and inter-sectoral coordination; capacity-building, the role of science, technology and innovation; adequate finance from both domestic sources and international cooperation; promoting outreach by informing, communicating and educating the citizenry; and adhering to accountable monitoring and reporting.

Ambitious climate resilient economy

Africa and other developing countries remain vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

In Ghana, the agricultural and food economy are already under threat as local farmers reel under the severity of the weather.

Achieving a 2^oC global temperature target is ambitious but means for adaptation and mitigation remain critical to the vulnerable.

In preparing and submitting its INDC, Ghana is mindful of its international obligations as a Party to the UNFCCC while simultaneously pursuing a national development agenda that seeks to achieve the long-standing objective of becoming a fully-fledged middle-income economy.

Ghana’s response to the threats posed to this objective by the impacts of climate change has been to pursue coordinated domestic policy actions that in effect seek to develop a policy framework that integrates adaptation, mitigation and other climate related policies within broader development policies and planning.

This is in order to safeguard developmental gains from the impacts of climate change and build a climate resilient economy.

Ghana holds the view that the INDCs should cover mitigation, adaptation, finance technology, capacity building and transparency and agrees with the common position of Africa.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh

CSIR-CRI to run post-graduate programmes in science education

The Crops Research Institute (CRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has been accredited to run post-graduate programmes in science education.

The Institute has over the years produced crop varieties and generated technologies to support Ghana’s food production and economic development.

Through its research and agricultural extension, the CSIR-CRI has also passed on knowledge and skills to farmers and educational institutions.

“We believe that by coming up with a graduate school, we’ll be able to target the next generation and build capacity in these new areas of science, so that we can ensure that science knowledge is passed on for posterity,” said Dr. Stella Ennin, Director of the CSIR-CRI.

She says the graduate school will take off with a Plant Breeding and Biotechnology programme to empower young scientists and researchers with theoretical and practical training.

“We have combined modern breeding technologies with conventional breeding and they are going to have this package together,” she noted.

The Crops Research Institute is the largest of the 13 institutes under the CSIR.

Students from tertiary institutions already use the CSIR-CRI laboratories and library for their research and also access improved crop varieties for academic work.

Over 100 students from the universities and polytechnics undertake industrial attachments at the CRI every year, whilst scientists from the Institute are also engaged as part-time lecturers in universities and supervise projects of students.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh

Time to walk the talk on sustainable development goals

As the UN’s Sustainable Development Summit closed in New York with a bold new global sustainability roadmap, world leaders now need to focus on fulfilling that vision.

The task ahead is clear, but not easy – world leaders must go home and make the necessary administrative, legal, regulatory and fiscal decisions, and spend the next 15 years implementing and enforcing this agenda.

Unlike the Millennium Development Goals that were mainly aimed at developing countries, for the SDGs, all goals have to be achieved in all countries.

The Agenda 2030, which contains the 17 SDGs, agreed upon by countries, with the participation of other actors in an unprecedented democratic process, necessitate important transformations. Leida Rijnhout, Director of Global Policies and Sustainability at the European Environmental Bureau, stated that the new development goals present an opportunity to transform the world’s development agenda.

“The Sustainable Development Goals should give some much needed impetus for a paradigm shift to a new global economic and political system based on sustainability, human rights and equality,” states Leida.

For this to happen there’s need for a clear political and moral will to implement the SDGs.

“Governments have to use their political and moral power to put the right policies in place and mobilise all means of implementation to enable the shift away from business-as-usual,” states Leida.

Political will

In his speech to the UN General Assembly, Pope Francis stated that “solemn commitments are not enough, even though they are a necessary step toward solutions.” He further reiterated the importance of political and moral will in the achievement of the SDGs.

“Our world demands of all government leaders a will which is effective, practical and constant, concrete steps and immediate measures for preserving and improving the natural environment and thus putting an end as quickly as possible to the phenomenon of social and economic exclusion.”

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon cautioned that the true test of commitment to these goals “will be implementation. We need action from everyone, everywhere”. He added that the goals “are a to-do list for people and planet, and a blueprint for success.”

“To achieve these new global goals, we will need your high-level political commitment. We will need a renewed global partnership,” he said.

WWF International President Yolanda Kakabadse urged world leaders to sustain this political courage at home and make the right choices, committing to a total economic, social and environmental overhaul.

“Today’s celebration must translate into delivery and quickly. For these goals to become a reality decision-makers must demonstrate their intention to implement the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals is real and make their efforts transparent through careful follow-up and review,” urged Kakabadse.

Countries need to figure out how they’re going to contribute to achieving these goals and set benchmarks and indicators so they can report on their efforts. They will need to strengthen their domestic and external mobilization of resources to implement this development agenda.

Addressing the UN General Assembly, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta stated that the goals are ambitious and need an equally robust development mechanism.

“Without resources, the goals may never be realised; effective mobilization of resources in the context of global partnership will be critical,” he said before adding “new ideas and courage are necessary in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Integrating Gender in SDGs

Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of Oxfam International said that the new Sustainable Development Goals are ambitious on paper but they could be historic in their impact.

“SDGs seek to go beyond band-aid solutions by setting out to eradicate – not just reduce – extreme poverty and hunger in every country,” she said.

Winnie further warned that the successes of the SDGs  requires the participation of the most vulnerable and marginalized people so they can hold their governments to account and claim their rights. Women must be central to realizing these goals, while at the same time the concentrated power of vested interests must be challenged and those interests held more accountable by governments and citizens.

Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) echoed the integration of women and other vulnerable groups in implementing the SDGs.

“Sustainable development must include gender equality comprehensively, otherwise it is neither development, nor sustainable. The time for equality has come,” stated Alicia.

The 2030 Agenda should be centered on participatory and transparent processes that turn the top-down logic on its head and move from the national arena to a regional sphere, and from regional to global.

Every country is required to develop national indicators and programmes of implementation through individual development plans. In March, countries will crucially agree a set of indicators that will allow the UN to report annually on global progress in coming years.

Sustainable development demands significant collective action. Though all 193 Member States of the United Nations reached agreement on the SDGs, their success relies heavily on action and collaboration by all actors. Just as Winnie Byanyima of Oxfam correctly puts it, “Our political leaders have set the goals. There is a collective responsibility now to achieve them.”

African leaders miss opportunity to show their commitment to Climate Change

African Civil Society has expressed disappointment at the failure of African leaders to fully rally behind their resolve to demand climate justice for the continent at the 70^th UN General Assembly in New York.

The Committee of African Heads and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC) had an opportunity to meet, get updates, exchange views and analyze the continent’s effort to consolidate itself on the ongoing international dialogue process for a suitable climate change agreement, which will be reached in Paris in December 2015.

According to the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), the New York meeting provided a key strategic moment for the convergence of African leaders to discuss and agree on a position that will secure African people a promising future in view of the rising impacts caused by the changing climate, which will disproportionately affect the most vulnerable in the society.

CAHOSCC remains the platform of Heads of State and Government and was conceived to provide the highest political leadership possible.

Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC) has provided the stewardship in positioning climate change as the top-most priority for the Commission.

Civil society is however concerned that some Heads of State continue to bypass the crucial opportunity to join CAHOSCC, which is their platform to demonstrate their commitment to navigating this critical issue.

PACJA is disappointed at the absence of several CAHOSCC members at a press conference convened by its Coordinator, Fattah El Sisi, the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and attended by Chairperson of the African Union (AU), Robert Mugabe.

“We wish to remind our leaders that the Ministers have their platform where they compile the African Position and priority issues, under the guidance of the African Group of Negotiators,” stated Mithika Mwenda, PACJA Secretary General. “As the civil society, we are on top of the developments in Africa as the climate change negotiations unfold and hope that our leaders will not fall into the trap of 2009, when they gave into a wholly unacceptable outcome. This can only happen if they are available to listen and widely consult with other stakeholders across the continent.”

PACJA has echoed the views discussed at the press conference that Africa should be left to develop its own initiatives to enhance the climate resilience of its people while contributing to the global effort to defeat the challenges of climate change.

“We urge our Governments to build on the existing initiatives and avoid the emerging trend where the African continent is turning out to be the experimental ground for climate change solutions developed elsewhere,” said Mithika. “We want to see our Governments’ firm commitment to a strong unified African position during COP21, on the Initiative on enhancing support to Africa on Adaptation and Loss and Damage, and the African Renewable Energy Initiative”.

Energy access and adaptation are the most pressing issues in Africa’s response to the climate crisis.

The Civil Society group feels that Africa has strong networks, institutions and the sufficient capacity to deal with any area of climate response, may it be adaptation, mitigation, technology transfer or finance.

Under the Climate and Development for Africa Programme (CLIMDEV) partnership, the AUC, AfBD and the UNECA have come together in an unprecedented relationship that has provided policy and programmatic guidance on continent-wide outreach: bringing together governments, UN Agencies, Regional Economic Integration Communities, the Private Sector, and Civil Society among others.

Governments and development partners have been asked to support the work of the CLIMDEV Africa Programme to enhance its capacity rather than duplicating the work it’s already doing under African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC), Africa Climate Change Fund (ACCF) and CAHOSCC.

“We urge that recommendations of this partnership continue to set the framework of Africa’s response to climate change, and any other effort should be geared towards strengthening them. Only then will we see hope for millions of people suffering at the hands of climate change across Africa,” said Mithika.

Climate Action a necessary pre-condition to achieve SDGs, says ACT Alliance

As world leaders acknowledge the links between climate change and poverty at the UNGA Post-2015 Summit in New York, ACT Alliance called for increasing urgency to address the impacts of climate change.

Addressing a parallel event focusing on the role of faith-based actors in sustainable development, the international humanitarian and development network said that the SDGs must steer the world onto a sustainable pathway towards poverty eradication.

“Ending extreme poverty starts with addressing climate change, as a key pillar of our moral imperative," said ACT Alliance General Secretary John Nduna, addressing faith leaders and political dignitaries. “Mother earth weeps for climate justice. As long as we human beings abuse mother earth, ending extreme poverty will be an illusion.”

“Climate change denies people and communities the ability to overcome poverty,” he continued. “Without rain in sub-Saharan Africa, people cannot grow their food or feed their families. When streets and fields flood in Asia, communities lose their livelihoods and lives. As the sea level rises in the Pacific, people are stripped of their land and risk statelessness. Our leaders must urgently and adequately confront climate change.”

ACT Alliance has engaged in work related to climate justice and sustainable development since 2010, from community mobilisation to high level political engagement.

“While we celebrate the incredible adoption of the SDGs,” said Nduna, “we must now urgently stand together, ready, excited and motivated begin working in partnership with one another for the effective implementation of these goals.”

The negotiations towards the new global development framework continues to build momentum towards the UN climate change meeting (COP21) which will take place in Paris, France, in December.

“The ambition that we see with the adoption of the SDG framework today must translate to concrete action in Paris at COP21,” said Nduna. “Sustainable Development and poverty eradication is largely dependent on the ambition of the climate agreement to be adopted in Paris. Progress on SDGs should encourage parties to come up with a strong, fair and equitable climate agreement..”

New global energy goal key to sustainable development

World leaders’ adoption of an internationally accepted goal on sustainable energy for all is a key that unlocks progress across a stream of other priorities, from ending poverty and hunger, through clean water, health and education, to gender equality, job creation, economic growth and climate action.

Among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted at the UN Sustainable Development Summit on 25 September is goal number 7 which seeks to “Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.”

SDG 7’s targets on energy access, renewable energy and energy efficiency are enshrined in the objectives of the UN Secretary-General’s Sustainable Energy for All initiative (SE4All), which stands ready and able to play a core role in implementing, tracking and reporting on the goal.

Some 1.1 billion people worldwide live without electricity, and 2.9 billion people depend on smoky, dangerous traditional fuels such firewood, charcoal and kerosene for cooking and providing light.

According to the World Bank, only 24 percent of the population of sub-Saharan Africa has access to electricity, compared with 40 percent in other low income countries.

For Africa, energy poverty and poor energy access are significant obstacles to development, with impact on individuals, families and business opportunities.

At the same time, wasteful energy use, especially in high-income countries, fuels potentially devastating climate change. Access to energy is a human right which must be achieved for all to allow for equitable development.

“For the first time, SDG 7 provides an internationally accepted roadmap to sustainable energy for everybody, in the developed and developing world alike,” said Rachel Kyte, who will take over next January as Chief Executive Officer of SE4All.

PACJA Secretary General Mithika Mwenda adds that energy is a key component in the mitigation response to combatting climate change.

“The African continent is facing a particularly key moment in its development pathway, with a stark choice to be made between either following the same high-carbon path pursued by industrialized countries, or concentrating its growth on low-carbon climate resilient development pathway. Africa must choose the latter both for the good of the planet and its own development. An energy transformation is crucial to enable the continent to grow sustainably,” he said.

More than 90 million people have already gained access to sustainable energy under pledges made for the SE4All initiative, and commitments to date can provide energy access for around a billion people by 2030, cutting energy poverty in half despite population growth.

SE4All’s Global Tracking Framework (GTF), coordinated by the World Bank and the International Energy Agency and supported by more than 20 other partner agencies, is ready to act as a rigorous tool for tracking and reporting progress against the targets of SDG 7.

Mithika Mwenda adds that African governments must support energy transformation by channeling resources toward renewable energy sources. Developed countries must also support Africa through providing resources support renewables and enhancing capacity of developing countries in producing clean energy.

Underlining its commitment to action towards SDG 7, SE4All held two high-level events on the sidelines of the Sustainable Development Summit.

Summit Charts New Era of Sustainable Development

“We have a big, bold agenda before us – now we must work to make it real in people’s lives everywhere,” said United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, ahead of the gaveling of a new agenda for sustainable development.

At the landmark Sustainable Development Summit to be held from 25-27 September at UN Headquarters in New York, countries will officially adopt the historic new agenda, entitled “Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” which was agreed upon by the 193 Member States of the United Nations, and includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“It is a roadmap to ending global poverty, building a life of dignity for all and leaving no one behind. It is also a clarion call to work in partnership and intensify efforts to share prosperity, empower people’s livelihoods, ensure peace and heal our planet for the benefit of this and future generations,” underscored Mr. Ban.

The new agenda is people-centred, universal, transformative and integrated. It calls for action by all countries for all people over the next 15 years in five areas of critical importance: people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership. The agenda recognises that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with a plan that builds economic growth and addresses a range of social needs, while tackling climate change.

The opening ceremony of the Summit will start on 25 September, with the film screening, “The Earth from Space,” followed by musical performances by UN Goodwill Ambassadors Shakira and Angelique Kidjo, as well as a call to action by Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai along with youth representatives as torch bearers to a sustainable future.

Opening remarks will be delivered by Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Prime Minister of Denmark, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and civil society representative Salil Shetty, Amnesty International Secretary-General.

The Sustainable Development Agenda will then officially be adopted by world leaders.