UCLG Africa participates in the NYC Climate Week 2023

A delegation from UCLG Africa took part in the NYC Climate Week from September 19 to 22 in New York. The UCLG Africa delegation led by the Secretary General Mr. Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi included Mr. Mohamed Nbou, Climate Advisor to the Secretary General, UCLG Africa; Mr. Jewel Adjei, IT Special Advisor, UCLG Africa; Mrs. Soumia Benlebsir, Task Manager, Climate Department, UCLG Africa; Mrs. Sara Zeroil, Personal Assistant to the Secretary General, UCLG Africa.

The United Nations Climate Week is an important milestone in the process of preparing for COP28, and in this respect is an opportunity for UCLG Africa to consolidate the accomplishments of the 19th meeting of African Environment Ministers held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from August 16 to 18, 2023, the Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA-XI) from September 01 to 02, 2023 and the African Climate Summit from September 04 to 06, 2023.

On September 6, 2023, during the African Climate Summit, the President of the Republic of Kenya, H.E. Mr. William Ruto, launched the operationalization process of the BCRUP Initiative “Building the Climate Resilience of the Urban Poor” and called on UCLG Africa to be its implementation partner, particularly in mobilizing funding from partners.

On the sidelines of the NYC Climate Week, a round-table discussion on the BCRUP initiative, bringing together members of the Kenyan government and governors, as well as Kenya’s climate partners, was organized on the theme of “Improving adaptation and strengthening the climate resilience of the urban poor (BCRUP)“. The Secretary General of UCLG Africa took part in this special event as a panelist.

In addition, taking advantage of their presence at the Climate Summit in New York, working sessions were organized between UCLG Africa and BCRUP’s partners: Kenya’s Board of Governors, the Commonwealth Secretariat, PACJA, UN-Habitat and Habitat for Humanity. Several actions have been identified and will be implemented between September 2023 and COP28 in Dubai in November 2023, including the organization of a special event on the financing of the BCRUP initiative on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank general assemblies scheduled for October 2023 in Marrakech, Morocco.

Pre-Summit on the Three Basins

As part of the United Nations Climate Week, a pre-Summit on the Three Basins was also held on September 22, 2023.

At the invitation of the President of the Republic of Congo, H.E. Mr. Denis Sassou Nguesso, the Three Basins Summit will bring together from October 26 to 28, 2023 in Brazzaville, Congo, the heads of state and governments of the countries where the world’s three most important forest basins – the Amazon, Congo and Borneo Mekong Southeast Asia – are located. The Summit will also be attended by the Secretary General of the United Nations.

These three basins represent 80% of the world’s biodiversity and are the largest terrestrial source of carbon sequestration.

A Forum of Mayors and Local and Regional Governments is also planned as part of the Three Basins Summit, organized by UCLG Africa. To this end, the organization has worked with UCLG World and its regional sections for Latin America and Asia-Pacific to mobilize ten local and regional authorities from the countries hosting the Amazon and Borneo Mekong South-East Asia Basins to join the twenty local and regional authorities covering the Congo Basin.

The pre-Summit meeting provided an opportunity to:

– Gather ideas and perspectives from tropical forest countries and stakeholders on key issues related to forest management and conservation.

– Facilitate dialogue and collaboration between tropical forest countries in preparation for the Three Basins Summit.

– Identify common objectives, challenges and potential solutions to be discussed at the Summit.

– Build a common understanding of the importance of tropical forests in addressing global challenges including climate change, biodiversity and socio-economic development.