The President of the United States hosted theon April 22 and 23, 2021 Leaders' Climate Summit. According to the White House, the summit aimed to "galvanize the efforts of major economies to deal with the climate crisis." Leaders from 40 countries, including five from Africa, participated in this virtual event.
This event was an important step ahead of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which is currently being held in Glasgow 2021.
The five African leaders who attended the Leaders' Summit stressed the indispensable role the continent must play in global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and limit global warming to 1, 5 degree Celsius.
The situation in Africa deserves special attention: the continent contributes only 4% to total global GHG emissions, the lowest percentage of all regions, and yet its socio-economic development is threatened. by the climate crisis. In other words, Africa is the continent which produces the fewest emissions, but which bears the brunt of the consequences. For example, in addition to the effects of the climate crisis such as food insecurity, population displacement and water scarcity, more than half of African countries are susceptible to climate-related conflicts.
According to the United Nations Environment Program, annual adaptation costs in developing countries, currently estimated at $ 70 billion, will rise to $ 300 billion by 2030 and $ 500 billion by 2050. At the same time, African governments currently devote between 2% and 9% of their GDP to finance adaptation programs.
At COP26 in Glasgow, countries will launch an adaptation goal and adopt a strategy to achieve this goal. Glasgow therefore provides an opportunity to recognize and take into account Africa's unique needs and circumstances. There are several ways to achieve this according to Tanguy Gahouma-Bekale, President of the African group of negotiators on climate change under the UNFCCC :
Africa's priorities for COP26 thus include adaptation, climate finance, a market mechanism, ambitious NDCs, a transparency mechanism, meeting mitigation commitments before 2020 and recognizing needs and circumstances. unique to Africa.
"It will be Africa's turn to host COP27. It will take place in November 2022 in Egypt. The success of COP26 will give Africa the necessary impetus to prepare for the next COP. Africa is keen to join forces with developed countries to guarantee an ambitious outcome at COP26. We cannot afford to fail. " It is with these words that the president of the African group of negotiators on climate change within the framework of the UNFCCC, Tanguy Gahouma-Bekale, ended his analysis on the priorities of his continent in relation to the COP26 to which he naturally decided. participated.
5 solutions to combat climate change
BNP Paribas Asset Management has joined forces with the GoodPlanet Foundation to share useful information and the right reflexes to adopt in order to contribute to the objective set by the Paris agreements. Here are some tips and advice simple to better understand the challenges of global warming and reduce our daily CO2 emissions.
Certain labels guarantee sustainable forest management. By purchasing products (paper, furniture, etc.) bearing the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or European Certified Forest Program (PEFC) label, we can help preserve forests and thus limit anthropogenic GHG emissions.
To fight climate change, we must preserve the oceans. For this, each of us can act on a daily basis. For example, we can buy environmentally friendly household products to avoid dumping polluting chemicals into the oceans.
To reduce our impact on the climate on a daily basis, we can choose clean energy from renewable resources. More and more energy suppliers are encouraging their development: let's promote them as soon as possible to reduce our daily GHG emissions.
An energy label classifies products according to their energy consumption. This classification is symbolized by a letter. The most energy efficient and therefore the most environmentally friendly are rated A +, A ++ and even A +++! For example, an A ++ rated appliance consumes 45% less energy than an A rated appliance.
The best waste is the one that we do not produce! There are many solutions for this: questioning the need for our purchases, favoring products in bulk or without overpacking, preferring eco-refills, etc.
Source: Africa Renewal, BNP Paribas