Africa, Europe commit to Paris deal ahead of two major summits

The African Union and European Union have reaffirmed their commitment to the full implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and called on all parties to keep up the momentum created in 2015. The Paris Agreement provides the framework for all nations to introduce and strengthen policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and respond to a warmer planet by reducing carbon emissions and limiting global warming to below two degrees Celsius. The ambitious goal is to keep global temperature increases at below 1.5 degrees It also includes a commitment by developed nations to support climate vulnerable countries through finance and technology at a level of $100 billion annually until 2025, which would go towards adaptation to impacts of climate change, building resilience and preventing further damage. The agreement is the result of years of negotiations that began in 2011 in Durban, South Africa and concluded at the UN Climate Talks held in Paris in December 2015. The EU and AU commitment comes ahead of the COP23 slated for November and the upcoming Africa-EU Summit in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, also to be held late November, which will have climate change and renewable energy high on agenda. The development also comes after the announcement by President Donald Trump that he would withdraw the US from the agreement despite being the second biggest polluting country in the world. The US is also the top contributing country to the Green Climate Fund for environmental protection. “This will be an opportunity to confirm the strong solidarity with those most vulnerable to climate change and the determination to work together to build strong and sustainable economies and societies resilient to climate change,” reads a joint statement issued by the two regional blocs. The statement follows another issued jointly by the European Union and China indicating that the two parties are willing to fill the financial void left by the US in mobilising funds for climate change mitigation programme. Experts predict that some environment programmes that have been rolled out for both mitigation and adapatation will suffer because there is a bunch of money that will not be provided by the US. Rwanda keeps momentum Officials said Rwanda’s Green Fund, a ground-breaking environment and climate change investment fund and the largest of its kind in Africa, is a key part of delivering on the accord. Rwanda has pledged more actions to combat climate change mainly under in Intended Nationally Determined Contributions that are considered as essential elements of the agreement implementation. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Africa, Europe commit to Paris deal ahead of two major summits