Africa-Press – Rwanda. The African Union Commissioner African Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Blue Economy, Josefa Correia Sacko, defended, this Monday, in Libreville, the implementation of the Paris Agreement through increased funding for adaptation and climate resilience.
The African diplomat speaking in Libreville, Gabon, at the opening of Africa’s climate week, said Africa remains “strongly committed” to the global fight against climate change by ratifying the Paris Agreement and setting ambitious targets.
“We remain with unresolved issues from Glasgow, in particular the recognition of special needs and circumstances for Africa. It is our expectation that deliberations on this issue, loss and damage will be advanced at COP 27 in Sham el Sheikh”, he emphasized.
To support efforts to implement the Paris Agreement, the African Union adopted, during the February 2022 Summit of Heads of State and Government, the Operational Strategy containing the Green Recovery Action Plan and Meteorological and Climate Services.
Also in this aspect, the African Union Commission, in collaboration with several partners, is implementing the “Great Green wall” initiative, which began to be implemented in the Sahel region and now extends to the Southern Africa region.
Josefa Sacko considered that Africa is one of the most biodiverse regions in the world, with the forest ecosystem of the Congo basin serving both as an important carbon sink and as a biodiversity hotspot.
“This interconnection emphasizes the need for a stronger, coherent and coordinated approach between the different multilateral environmental agreements – in particular the UNFCCC on climate change, UNCBD on biodiversity and UNCCD on desertification and land degradation”, he stressed.
Regarding the operationalization of Africa’s blue economy strategy, Josefa Sacko said that programs have been made that aim to promote the integration of blue carbon and ecosystem services in climate change policies and in coastal and aquatic zones, to ensure environmentally sustainable economies and communities and climate resilient.
The African Union Commissioner underlined that in order to contain the adverse impacts of natural disasters caused by extreme weather events, which claimed many lives, a platform was created to facilitate collaboration and building synergies between partners.
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