Tag Archive for: Climate change
Call for proposals of the 2nd Climate Chance Summit – Africa 2019
Since the Climate urgency is more pressing than ever and that the States pledges are insufficient, it is absolutely necessary to raise ambition and accelerate the implementation of the Paris Agreement, by bringing together a large network of Subnational Governments and Non-State Actors and by anchoring the implementation of concrete climate actions at the local level.
Local authorities, businesses, NGOs, trade unions, scientists, representatives from agricultural, youth, women and indigenous organisations, educators, citizens, you are invited to submit your initiatives to feed the work of the Climate Chance Summit Africa that will take place in october 2019.
We invite you to take part in this call for proposals if you are leading initiatives corresponding to one of the 9 themes:
Access to climate finance in Africa
Developing African cities in a sustainable way
Agriculture, food and reforestation in Africa
Renewable energy and energy efficiency in Africa
Mobility and sustainable transport in Africa
Adaptation and Water in Africa
Sustainable Building and Construction in Africa
Education and Training on Climate Change in Africa
Circular economy in Africa
The selected initiatives will be presented during the thematic workshops at the Climate Chance Summit – Africa taking place in Accra from the 16th to 18th October 2019 and / or will be published on the Cartography for action.
To contribute : Submit your initiatives by May 31st, 2019!
Link to the call for proposals
UCLG Africa and ICLEI Africa announce a new strategic partnership to accelerate the localisation and implementation of global and African sustainable development goals and targets at the subnational level
27th of February 2019 in Rabat, Morocco
United Cities and Local Governments Africa (UCLG AFRICA) and ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability-Africa (ICLEI Africa) are very pleased to announce a strengthened collaborative partnership to accelerate the localization and implementation of the global and African development goals and targets at subnational level.
This collaboration builds on and complements the existing formal partnership between UCLG and ICLEI at the global level, as was renewed and strengthened in 2018 through a new global-level MoU. It is particularly important in the framework of the UCLG Africa Climate Task Force, which brings together all interested parties in the strengthening and empowerment of subnational and local governments’ role in the climate change and sustainability agenda.
To ensure full alignment with Agenda 2063 and accelerate access to new and existing financing mechanisms and partnerships for implementation at the subnational level, UCLG Africa and ICLEI Africa have agreed to build on their long-standing cooperative relationship by entering into a new level of intensified collaboration. This will be facilitated by a more robust and sustained Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to be signed during the upcoming Africa Climate Week in Accra, in March 2019.
General cooperation on urban sustainability
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- UCLG Africa and ICLEI Africa commit to complement each other and seek synergy for the benefit of their shared constituency in the field of sustainable development with a special focus on addressing climate mitigation, adaptation to climate change, resilience, access to energy and climate finance.
- UCLG Africa and ICLEI Africa confirm the leading political role of UCLG Africa and its associated core advocacy mandate to promote the recognition of subnational governments within the African and global contexts.
- UCLG Africa and ICLEI Africa confirm the leading technical role of ICLEI Africa in supporting climate and sustainability actions at subnational level within the African and global context.
- Other agreed areas of collaboration include the promotion of local and territorial solutions in the fields of circular economy, food security, biodiversity, green and sustainable infrastructure, water and sanitation, sustainable mobility, gender and youth development and private sector partnerships in the field of climate change and sustainability, along with support for the development and implementation of south-south and triangular decentralized cooperation partnerships regarding climate change and sustainability.
- UCLG Africa and ICLEI Africa remain committed to collaborate within the context provided by the African Union and its institutional mechanisms, in particular AMCEN and CAHOSC, and commit to jointly approach other key players on the continental landscape, such as the African Development Bank, other regional development banks, as well the Regional Economic Communities and other pan-African bodies within the African Union Governance Architecture, etc.
- UCLG Africa and ICLEI Africa will cooperate with appropriate stakeholders and participate jointly in the lobbying of national governments and African Union bodies in order that the management of urbanization and the transition to sustainable cities and territories in Africa are considered priority issues on the political agenda of Africa.
- The Secretary General of UCLG Africa and the Regional Director of ICLEI Africa will meet (in person) at least once a year in a dedicated meeting, to review the progress of relations between the two institutions and prioritize actions for the year ahead, in collaboration with their respective senior staff, complemented by regular online meetings and further opportunities provided through events and platforms.
Cooperation in the field of research
Watch Kobie Brand interview
UCLG Africa joins AfDB’s “Africa NDC Hub”
The pan-African organization, United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa), is pleased to inform its members, partners and collaborators of its accession to the ‘Africa NDC Hub.’
The Africa NDC Hub is a platform created by the African Development Bank (AfDB), which serves as a pool of resources for African countries, together with local and international, public and private institutions. Its aim is to support the 54 African countries implement their respective NDCs and thus fulfill their commitments under the Paris Agreement.
UCLG Africa is the first local authority organization to join the Africa NDC Hub. This is of great importance given the fact that African cities are the most threatened by climate change. In fact, of the top 10 most endangered cities, 8 are African, with Bangui (RCA) and Monrovia (Liberia) topping the list, according to the 2018 Climate Change Vulnerability Index .
Through this membership, members of ULCG Africa will receive new operational support in the fight against climate change, after the establishment of UCLG Africa’s Climate Task Force, launched in 2017 at COP23 in Bonn, Germany.
This support to African local governments will focus on three strategic areas :
- Promoting long-term climate action at the local level.
- Increasing the capacity of Africans cities and territories to ensure access to services in line with low-carbon and resilient development;
- Aligning and integratinglocal policies in the process of implementation of the NDCs (Promoting vertical governance and political ownership);
- Increasing visibility of local governments’ action for climate actions.
- Mobilizing the various means of implementation for the territorialization of the NDCs:
- Having access to the best approaches and practices in terms of project structuring as well as mechanisms for cooperation and exchange of knowledge;
- Improving the technical capacity and the capacity to mobilize resources for financing climate projects.
- Coordination, advocacy and partnerships for effective integration of local communities into the NDCs implementation process.
- Advocacy for better direct access of African local governments to climate finance by setting up a window in the Green Climate Fund dedicated to African cities and territories;
- Promoting the role of African cities and territories as essential links in achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement.
The integration of UCLG Africa into this coalition is also part of the strengthening of our organization’s strategic partnership with the AfDB and also as part of UCLG Africa’s positioning within the African and global climate ecosystem with a view to highlighting its planned or existing initiatives, aiming at supporting local elected officials in their fight against climate change.
Other partners of the Africa NDC Hub include: the African Union Commission (AUC), the Economic Commission for United Nations Africa (ECA), the Agency’s planning and coordination of NEPAD, the United Nations Food and Agriculture (FAO), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the French Development Agency (AFD), 4C MOROCCO, Global Green Growth Initiative (GGGI), the International Trade Center (ITC), and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB).
COP24: UCLG Africa Statement at the Global Climate Action High-Level Event
Statement by the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa) at the Global Climate Action High-Level Event on December 4th 2018 at 10:00-11:30 during COP24 in Katowice, Poland.
The United Cities and Local Governments of Africa is the umbrella organization representing the voice of over 16,000 local and subnational governments of the African continent.
UCLG Africa as many other key stakeholders do participate to the collective effort to combat climate change through the implementation of the NDCs.
UCLG Africa is aware of the renewed alert by IPCC Experts that the implementation of NDCs as currently defined, direct us towards a global warming of about 3 degrees Celsius, above the 2 degrees defined as the limit to avoid climate chaos.
UCLG Africa also shares the warning of the UN Secretary General that we only have two years left to act before the climate trajectory becomes irreversible.
UCLG Africa members therefore pledge to participate in this ambition to limit the global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius notably by promoting the implementation of Locally Determined Contributions (LDCs) extending and complementing the NDCs.
UCLG Africa members encourage public and private actors involved in climate finance, and specifically the Green Climate Fund, to direct significant financial flows to local and subnational governments.
To this end UCLG Africa hopes to see a “Readiness 2.0” program being defined and implemented with a view to supporting cities and local/subnational governments to prepare and submit funding proposals eligible for the Green Climate Fund and the other instruments of Climate Finance.
Publication of the Report of UCLG Africa & ENERGIES 2050: “Challenges and Opportunities for the Territorialization of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in Africa.”
The Pan-African Organization, United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa) and the French, NGO ENERGIES 2050, have announced the publication of their report “Challenges and Opportunities for the Territorialization of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in Africa.” A first draft was presented at the 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP23) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Bonn, Germany, November 6-17, 2017.
The report highlights the essential role of Africa’s cities and local governments in the implementation of national strategies for the fight against climate change, and the attainment of the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. At both the international and African level, the involvement of the sub-national authorities is inescapable if they are to contribute to transforming the “commitments” into concrete actions on the ground. This is all the more important as scientific studies emphasize that, even if the commitments made in all the NDCs as formulated were met, this would not be sufficient to maintain, at the global level, the level of temperature rise below 2°C (and not even at 1.5°C) by 2100, compared to the pre-industrial levels. It is therefore time not only for the implementation but also for raising the ambition of the commitments. In both cases, cities and territories have a key role to fulfil.
The role of local governments and other sub-national authorities is considered crucial, particularly with regard to their greenhouse gas emissions (notably in the cities), their vulnerability to the impact of climate change, and also their knowledge of the specificities of their territories as well as of the opportunities for potential actions to be undertaken in the area of both mitigation and adaptation.
The report addresses five (5) dimensions that help to anchor the role of cities and territories in the implementation of NDCs. These are (i) governance that is reminiscent of both vertical and horizontal governance, (ii) issues related to awareness and information, (iii) the dimension of the development of territorial integrated and compatible climate plans, (iv) funding issues, and (v) issues pertaining to measuring the fight against climate change at the local level, MRV (measurement, reporting and verification) monitoring systems.
UCLG Africa and ENERGIES 2050 have been pleading for several years for a ‘territorialization’ of the commitments of Central Governments. This report was produced to contribute to the attainment of this goal. It is structured around two major parts. The first aims to provide a non-exhaustive analysis of the involvement of local governments in climate policies, with special emphasis on the role reserved for cities and territories in the NDCs of African States; on the growing role of non-state stakeholders in international climate negotiations or experiences conducted by various African local and regional governments in the field of climate.
The second part of the report is intended to be more “operational” and proposes an analysis of the levers for potential actions that could enable African local and regional governments to strengthen the design and implementation of territorial policies and strategies integrated into the NDC processes. These areas of action include significantly improved governance processes, the need to involve all stakeholders, the setting up of integrated climate strategies that meet the Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) requirements of UNFCCC, and access to international funding to support implementation at the territorial level.
The report is also an invitation for a greater involvement of local and regional governments in the implementation of the climate agenda in African countries. It highlights the pressing need to build the capacities of local and regional governments and to provide them with technical and financial assistance, notably through climate finance, and more specifically, the Green Climate Fund, necessary to enable them to fulfil their role in mitigating GHG emissions as well as in adapting to climate change.
Finally, the report highlights the existing window of opportunity for African local and regional governments to join the NDC processes in order to redefine their operation models and promote economic and social development strategies, which are both sustainable and low carbon, and that effectively meet the development challenges of their territories.
The report is accessible on the UCLG Africa website and the Report of ENERGIES 2050 website.
Its English version will be available in the forthcoming months on the same platforms.
Climate Summit for Local and Regional Leaders: The Contribution of African Local Authorities to the Localization of Climate Finance
More than 1000 participants, among whom 780 local authorities took part in the 2nd Climate Summit for Local and Regional Leaders held on 14 November 2016 in the ochre city of Marrakesh on the fringes of the COP22.
| After the first edition organized in Paris in 2015, African local authorities were strongly mobilized to insure their concerns about access to climate finance are taken into account by the Marrakech roadmap adopted at the end of the Summit. The Summit was organized by the Moroccan Association of Presidents of Local Governments Councils (AMPCC) and the Association of Regions of Morocco (ARM) in partnership with international networks of local and regional governments, including UCLG Africa.
The 2nd Climate Summit for Local and Regional Leaders registered the participation of local and regional authorities from 114 countries including 50 African countries. For this 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP 22)hosted for the second time by the Kingdom of Morocco after the COP 7 in 2001, the African Local Authorities were at the forefront ofthe fight against Climate Change. Indeed, the Climate Summit for Local and Regional Leaders highlighted the stakes for cities by choosing the theme “Financing the Sustainable Transition of Territories”. The talks and discussions have resulted in the adoption of the Marrakech Roadmap for Action: “For a Global Action Framework towards Localizing Climate Finance, the Call of Cities and Regions of the World”. |
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The roadmap takes into account the concerns of African local authorities and states as its two main actions:- The launch of a global campaign for localizing climate finance for 2017;
-The implementation of a Global Action Framework for localizing Climate Finance for 2020.
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| The Declaration of Cotonou adopted in the pre-COP22 of Local and Regional Authorities of Africa organized by UCLG Africa, also states the previous points. In fact, while in Benin, local authorities asked for:
– The creation of a window dedicated to local governments within the Green Climate Fund, – The implementation, during the 2017-2019 period preceding the entry into force of the Green Climate Fund in 2020, of a technical assistance and capacity building program for local authorities in Africa to enable them to prepare and submit bankable applications to the Green Climate Fund and other climate finance mechanisms. The Marrakesh road map ‘particularly‘ welcomes “the consistency of the political elected leadership of the continent through the Yamoussoukro Declaration in 2015 and Cotonou in 2016”. Thus, the participants responded positively to the invitation made at the opening of the Summit by Mr. Mohand Laenser, President of the Association of Regions of Morocco (ARM). “It is important to explore all the possibilities of financing. Local authorities of Africa will have to be present. It is in the position of decision maker that local leaders can impact“, he said. “We can’t consider the fight against climate change without the involvement of local authorities and the support of donors who must take into account the requirements of the developing countries“, reminded Mr. Fouad El Omari, President of the Moroccan Association of Presidents of Local Governments Councils (AMPCC). |
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Mr. Parks Tau, President of UCLG, stressed in his opening address that the implementation of the Paris agreement cannot be done without taking into account the main international agendas including the new urban Agenda – Habitat III. |
| Shared experiences
The 14 November 2016 was also an excellent platform for sharing of experience at Climate Summit for Local and Regional Leaders. “Woman must be at the heart of the actions in favor of the climate“, this is the advocacy made by Ms. Célestine Ketcha Courtès, President of the Network for Locally Elected Women of Africa (REFELA) during her participation to the panel on “Partnering for Financing Resilient Territories”. “It’s women who manage family matters. It is them who are in contact with all the actions that can be with or against the climate,” the mayor of the Bangangté (West Cameroon) continues. As an example of a good practice, she shared the construction of the ecological latrines that produce urea and ecological compost in her municipality since 2013. In the same panel, the President of Cadi Ayyad University of Marrakesh, Mr. Abdellatif Miraoui invited local authorities to work with the universities to find solutions to fight climate change. The Mayor of the city of Cotonou, M. Lehady Soglo, came to Marrakesh to meet financial institutions to find sustainable solutions to the recurrent flooding problems in his city. He hopes that this Summit will be the summit of action “with the provision of funding to local governments for tangible projects”. In the meantime, the Beninese capital will begin by taking advantage of the “experience of the region of Marrakech so that Cotonou becomes a green lung area. Marrakech has a smell because of its gardens. We want to establish a partnership in this area“, says Mr. Soglo.
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| For the moment, the Cotonou municipal team launched “safety campaigns and will award the cleanest areas. I believe that through awareness, we can make citizens understand that they themselves are directly affected“, said the Mayor.
In the North of Ivory Coast, Mrs. Nasseneba Touré, Mayor of Odienné, is committed to involve young people in the fight against pollution. “As a community leader, when it comes to waste management and greenhouse gases reduction, we try to cut down the amount of motorcycles. In the North region, motorcycles produce 102 grams of CO2 per kilometer. With an average of 2000 to 3000 bikes in a municipality, there is a lot of pollution. We create jobs in agriculture to take young people out of this area and finance “e-Cities” projects. We strive to have less polluting materials such as electric bicycles and motorcycles that produce less gas,” explains Ms. Nasseneba Touré. The president of the Rwandan Association of Local Government Authorities (RALGA) has shared the efforts of his country that is shifting to renewable energy with the construction of the largest solar energy plant in sub-Saharan Africa. Mr. Innocent Uwimana also mentioned the fight against the ongoing deforestation in Rwanda to contribute to carbon emissions reduction. The Network for Locally Elected Women of Africa (REFELA) has produced a declaration for the COP22 during the extraordinary general assembly of UCLG Africa. REFELA Declaration is available here. The Association of African Traditional Authorities for Local Dynamic and Sustainable Governance also made a declaration in Marrakech. The association was created at the end of the first talks of Traditional Authorities of Africa around their engagement in favor of the implementation of the Paris Agreement held on 11 to 12 November in Marrakech, at the initiative of UCLG Africa. The Declaration is available here. Read the Marrakesh Roadmap here. |
Save the Date: The Climate Summit for Local and Regional Leaders, COP22
On the fringes of the COP22 (Morocco, 07-18 November 2016), the Association of Moroccan Regions (ARM) and the Moroccan Association of Presidents of Local Councils (AMPCC), in partnership with major international networks of local, metropolitan and regional governments including UCLG Africa, will organize the Climate Summit for Local and Regional Leaders on 14 November at the Congress Palace of Marrakesh.
The theme of the summit is “Financing the Sustainable Transition of Territories”.
For the organizers, “the Summit will showcase local and regional leaders’ commitment and willingness to support the Global Climate Action Agenda’s implementation, to strengthen convergences and alliances, and develop the necessary partnerships in order to accelerate local action for climate”.
This international meeting will facilitate the expansion and accessibility of financial resources for Local Governments, through the implementation of financing mechanisms, institutions and programs at subnational level.
The participants will strive to achieve the commitments undertaken during the first Summit for Local Leaders held in Paris within the COP21, by looking for appropriate financial solutions in cooperation with central governments, public institutions, civil society, private sector, investors and international cooperation stakeholders, participating in the different debates.
These following themes will be discussed:
-“Local and regional governments, champions of the successful implementation of the Paris
Agreement”,
-“For a Climate Finance Directed to Local and Regional Governments”. The first panel of this session will register the participation of the new president of UCLG, Mr. Parks Tau,
– Financing territorial resilience and the wellbeing of local populations: challenges, needs, opportunities and solutions. The president of UCLG Africa, Mr. Khalifa Ababacar Sall, will take part in this panel,
-Partnering for Financing Resilient Territories,
– Public and Private Climate Finance: Building Alliances for the Benefit of Territories,
– Entrepreneurship and Territories towards sustainable change,
– For a vertical integration: key building blocks for concerted resources mobilization for climate.
The full program is available here.
The closing session will present the Summit’s Call for Action, which will be addressed in the Blue Zone and COP22 High Level Event of the Action Agenda.
Climate Chance Summit 2016: Check out Nantes Declaration of Climate Actors
The Climate Chance World Summit, which was held on 26 to 28 September 2016 in Nantes (France), has led to the adoption of the declaration of Nantes untitled: «Strengthening concrete action to bridge the gap between current commitments and the objectives of the Paris Agreement.”
More than 3,000 participants from 62 nationalities took part in this first edition of the actors of the climate summit. A good sign for this summit, which aims to become a regular event for all non-state actors, involved in the fight against climate change (Local Authorities, businesses, associations, trade unions, scientific community, citizens).
The main points of the declaration include:
– The necessity for a common approach regarding climate and development;
– The necessity for an easier access to finance, particularly for actors in developing States;
– Key point of this new non-State actors’ roadmap: getting ready to contribute to the evaluation of the 2018 voluntary contributions each State will present in the Paris Agreement framework.
The declaration is available here
The declaration has already registered more than 100 signatures. Organizations, which desire to sign the document, are requested to send an e-mail to association@climatechance.fr.
PRECOP22 FORUM – PRESS RELEASE – COTONOU DECLARATION
Mayors from around Africa attended the African Cities and Territories Pre COP22 Forum to focus on unavoidable stakeholders for the implementation of the international agenda on climate change in Cotonou, Benin, from 8 to 10 September 2016.
It was acknowledged that cities and regions play a major role in energy demand and consumption, urban planning, transport and agriculture, but they also influence decision and policy making making. This milestone meeting in Cotonou leads up to the twenty-second Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to be hosted in Marrakesh, Morocco, from 7 to 18 November 2016.
The Cotonou Declaration recognises the importance of the Paris Agreement and encourage all African States to ratify it and commit to implementing steps to reduce global warming. It builds on various international commitments made by local governments including the Durban Adaptation Charter, the Yamoussoukro Declaration, the Declaration of the Paris Local Leaders Summit and others programmes such as the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy.
Read the Press Release
Read the Declaration of Cotonou