Toute l'actu sur la protection de l'environnement
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Tag: Changement climatique

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The 7th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) is being held from 29 February to 2 March 2024 in the Algerian capital, Algiers. Billed as the « Summit of Major Challenges », it will focus on the role of natural gas in the transition to renewable energies.
The 7th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) begins on 29 February 2024 in the Algerian capital, Algiers. « The holding of the summit in Algiers is an extremely important strategic event in the field of energy, in that Algeria will be working to strengthen the partnership between countries, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and thus promote the place and role that it will have to play as part of sustainable solutions for future energy », explains Mohamed Arkab, the Algerian Minister of Energy and Mines.
Against a backdrop of mounting pressure to speed up the dialogue on targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and phasing out the use of fossil fuels, the GECF sees natural gas as the key to the transition to sustainable energy.
Today, the use of natural gas is developing more rapidly in other areas, such as power stations and industry, « because of its energy efficiency and environmental qualities ». According to NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber (AEC), natural gas is the key to a prosperous future and a just energy transition for Africa.
Taking Tanzania as an example, the AEC president points out that from wells and a gas processing plant on Songo Songo Island, which now generates around 45% of Tanzania’s electricity, the East African country has created over 114,000 jobs and significantly reduced its carbon emissions (at the Tanzania Portland Cement Company alone, CO2 emissions have been cut by around 80,000 tonnes a year). Songo Songo’s gas production also provides a cleaner source of energy for Dar es Salaam’s power stations, replacing diesel and heavy fuel oil (HFO).
Over 69% of the world’s gas reserves
Launched in 2001, the GECF summit, now in its seventh year, will also inaugurate the headquarters of the Gas Research Institute (GRI), hosted and run by Algeria. This 7th summit will see the signing of several memorandums of understanding between the GECF and major international and regional organisations.
Full members of the GECF are Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. Angola, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mozambique and Peru have observer status. They account for 69% of world gas reserves, 39% of marketed production and 40% of world gas exports. In addition, GECF member countries collectively account for more than half (51%) of the world’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports.
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The island of Madagascar, off the southeast coast of Africa, is set to experience increased drought in 2024. According to the United Nations, the island is one of 35 countries worldwide considered to be « at high risk » from the impacts of the El Niño phenomenon.
Rainfall warning lights were triggered on Wednesday February 7, 2024 in Madagascar’s Grand Sud, a region already highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Satellite observations and weather stations are recording a significant water deficit, marked by temperatures of at least 35 degrees Celsius and dry winds that make the red earth swirl.
The consequences of this very low rainfall should be felt by the population as early as May 2024, when the harvest begins. The peak of food insecurity is expected in October 2024, if harvests fail. « Madagascar is already facing a climate crisis. And with the return of El Niño, the consequences could be dramatic », warns Reena Ghelani, the UN coordinator on the climate crisis and the El Niño phenomenon, who concluded a visit to Madagascar’s Grand Sud on Friday February 2, 2024.
El Niño is a climatic phenomenon characterized by abnormally high water temperatures in the eastern part of the South Pacific Ocean. Combined with the global rise in surface temperatures, this phenomenon exacerbates the effects of climate change. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) ranks Madagascar among the 35 countries in the world considered « at high risk » of El Niño impacts. Seven other African countries feature in this top 35, namely Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe, where the impact of El Niño last year resulted in widespread crop failure and the drying-up of community water points used by the population, for livestock and for agricultural purposes.
Mobilization of international humanitarian aid
According to the WMO, 2024 could break the heat record set last year under the effects of El Niño warming. In Madagascar’s Grand Sud region, where around 45% of the population in some districts is facing acute levels of food insecurity, humanitarian actors fear that the drought will amplify existing vulnerabilities. During the last El Niño episode in 2015-2016, the region was hit by a severe drought. The cost of the humanitarian response, which lasted three years, was estimated at $180 million.
As part of the National Humanitarian Response Plan (PNRH) 2023-2024, the Malagasy government and its partners intend to help around 1.6 million people starved by the climate crisis. The international community is called upon to mobilize $162 million for this plan.
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Since January 6, 2024, a plastic art exhibition has been taking place in the Pahou classified forest, located 30 minutes from Cotonou, Benin’s economic capital. The initiative, supported by the Institut français du Bénin, aims to protect nature through artistic expression.
A collective of 23 Beninese visual artists are presenting their works in the classified Pahou forest, located in the historic town of Ouidah, in southern Benin. Supported by the French Institute of Benin as part of the « Vodun-Days » festival organized from January 9 to 10, 2024, the exhibition dubbed « N. art.urel » is a project conceived and executed by Dominique Zinkpè, Beninese visual artist and promoter of the art gallery Le lieu Unik-Abomey.
« This project came about because we wanted visual artists not to be confined to conventional exhibition venues. We also draw our materials from nature. It’s a way of bringing art and nature into harmony. Each artist brings his or her own intelligence to the table, so that the exhibition as a whole makes sense, » explains Dominique Zinkpè. At the opening of the exhibition on January 6, 2024, the President of Benin, Patrice Talon, was present. The Head of State exchanged views with the artists’ collective, who introduced him to works of contemporary art representative of Benin’s history and cultural heritage.
Covering an area of 520.2 hectares and rich in 247 plant species, the Pahou classified forest will host this exhibition until Wednesday January 17, 2024.
In their quest for communion between nature and art, Dominique Zinkpè and his comrades have set themselves the next challenge, to exhibit their works far from the ground. « We hope to exhibit our work on the water in Ganvié (a lakeside town on Lake Nokoué, north of the metropolis of Cotonou), » explains Dominique Zinkpè.
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Uganda takes the first step towards integrating the circular economy model into its national strategy. The East African country launched its circular economy roadmap on January 31, 2023 in the capital Kampala. The document aims to stimulate sustainable growth and green industrialization, in line with Uganda’s national « Vision 2040 » program.

The process of creating a circular economy in Uganda now has a roadmap. The official launch ceremony for this document was held on January 31, 2023 in the Ugandan capital, Kampala. The document’s provisions guarantee socio-economic development and inclusive growth, including job creation, while protecting the country’s natural capital and combating the effects of climate change.
This initiative jointly supported by the African Circular Economy Alliance (ACEA) and the African Circular Economy Facility (ACEF) of the African Development Bank (AfDB), will mobilize government decision-makers, businesses and civil society organizations in efforts to fully harness the potential of circularity to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate action.
« Circular economy roadmaps are policy tools to direct investments towards the efficient use of Africa’s natural assets, generating dividends for nature and people, » explains Anthony Nyong, the AfDB’s Director of Climate Change and Green Growth.
The circular economy and green jobs
The circular economy is a model of production and consumption that involves sharing, reusing, repairing, renovating and recycling existing products and materials for as long as possible, so that they retain their value. According to the Ugandan authorities, in addition to boosting household incomes, the country’s seven million young people are among those expected to benefit most from the circular economy, through the creation of green jobs. « Uganda, which is in the early stages of its industrialization, has the privilege of following the path of a sustainable transition that allows us to avoid the consequences of resource-inefficient industrialization, » said Joshua Mutambi, Commissioner at Uganda’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives.
The green economy implementation process also meets the objectives of Uganda’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). In the document, updated in September 2022, Uganda pledges to reduce its net greenhouse gas emissions by 24.7% from business-as-usual levels by 2030, totaling an absolute reduction in CO2 emissions of around 36.75 million tonnes in key sectors such as energy, agriculture, forestry and other land uses, industrial processes and product use, transport and waste.
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Owendo Mineral Port (OMP) is committed to a low-emission economy. A 1.56 MWp solar system will soon be installed on the port’s premises, located 21 kilometers from Gabon’s capital, Libreville. The project is financed by British International Investment (BII), a British financial institution.
Owendo Mineral Port (OMP), a public-private joint venture between Arise Ports & Logistics, Meridiam and the Gabonese government, is in the process of solarizing its facilities. A 1.56 MWp solar panel system and a 1 MW battery electricity storage system will soon be installed, mainly on the roofs of 6 workshops, within the port platform located 21 kilometers from Gabon’s capital, Libreville. The project’s environmental benefits include a reduction in CO2 emissions, estimated at over 1,700 tonnes per year, and optimization of the port’s operating costs.
The $2.6 million project will be financed under the partnership agreement that OMP has just signed with British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution. « We are delighted to have identified this value-added opportunity with OMP to help address climate challenges. This is in line with BII’s ambition to achieve a net zero portfolio by 2050, and to support the decarbonization efforts of our portfolio companies, » explains Geoffrey Manley, Director and Head of Energy Access and Efficiency at BII.
The BII’s financing is linked to an energy audit. According to the investment company, the Owendo mineral port’s electricity demand is around 7,730 MWh, which suggests that much remains to be done to achieve full solarization of OMP’s electricity needs. Moreover, as part of its sustainable development strategy, the port intends to electrify its mechanical equipment and transport vehicles.
OMP’s move towards a low-CO2 economy is part of a national vision. In its project to build hybrid solar power plants, Gabon intends to reduce its carbon emissions in order to achieve annual carbon savings of around 3,000 tonnes of CO2. For Gabon’s Caisse de Dépôts et de Consignations (CDC), this performance should contribute to the achievement of public energy policy objectives of a total installed capacity of 1,200 MW, with 80% in renewable energies (hydraulic and solar) and 20% in thermal energies, mainly gas, by 2025.
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