Les militants de Greenpeace Afrique du Cameroun se sont rassemblés à l’esplanade de la Sous-Préfecture de Tsinga ce vendredi 15 septembre 2023 au cours d’une mobilisation pour demander l’arrêt de la production de combustibles fossiles.
Cette mobilisation de près trente jeunes qui vient de se tenir dans 60 autres pays d’Afrique et globalement est organisée en prélude au Sommet des Nations Unies sur l’Ambition climatique qui se déroulera le 20 septembre 2023 à New York.
Toute l'actu sur la protection de l'environnement
Les militants de Greenpeace Afrique du Cameroun se sont rassemblés à l’esplanade de la Sous-Préfecture de Tsinga ce vendredi 15 septembre 2023 au cours d’une mobilisation pour demander l’arrêt de la production de combustibles fossiles.
Cette mobilisation de près trente jeunes qui vient de se tenir dans 60 autres pays d’Afrique et globalement est organisée en prélude au Sommet des Nations Unies sur l’Ambition climatique qui se déroulera le 20 septembre 2023 à New York.
“Les combustibles fossiles sont un poison pour toutes les générations. Ils sont la première cause des changements climatiques. Plus de 90% de la matière plastique par exemple est produite à base de combustible fossile. Et ici à Yaoundé comme dans plusieurs autres villes du Cameroun, nous vivons les effets du changement climatique. Les familles subissent de plus en plus les affres des inondations. C’est connu, le plastique bouche les caniveaux et quand il pleut l’eau ne circule pas correctement. Il faut arrêter sa production”, a déclaré Marie Grace Ngo Mbog, Coordinatrice des Volontaires Greenpeace au Cameroun
“Nous avons voulu adresser un message clair aux leaders avant qu’ils ne se réunissent la semaine prochaine. Les décisions qu’ils prennent nous affectent aujourd’hui et nous affectent demain quand ils ne seront plus là. Il faut une suppression progressive mais rapide de la production de combustibles fossiles, sinon, il nous sera difficile d’atteindre le seuil de 1,5 degrés au réchauffement global.” ajoute Marie Grace.
« Certains pays africains les moins bien approvisionnés en énergie sont les plus riches en réserves pétrolières. Et de nombreuses régions pacifiques et riches en biodiversité ont sombré dans le conflit avec l’arrivée des grandes compagnies pétrolières. Pour les milliers de jeunes Africains qui défilent pour mettre fin à l’expansion des combustibles fossiles et à l’extraction néocoloniale qui aggrave les difficultés des communautés africaines, il s’agit d’une lutte pour leur survie. C’est un combat pour nos vies et notre bien-être. Et c’est un combat qu’ils doivent gagner » a déclaré Dr. Oulie Keita, Directrice exécutive de Greenpeace Afrique.
Luchelle Feukeng
Chargée de la Communication, Greenpeace Afrique
À l’invitation du secrétaire général de l’Organisation des Nations unies (ONU), un Sommet mondial sur l’Ambition climatique se tient le 20 septembre 2023 à New York aux États unis d’Amérique. António Guterres saisit cette occasion pour lancer un appel pour l’abandon des combustibles fossiles. Pour apporter son soutien à cet appel du patron de l’ONU, Greenpeace a mobilisé des centaines de militants à travers plus de 550 actions organisées dans 60 pays dont le Cameroun, et la République démocratique du Congo (RDC).
Des nations du Pacifique, fortement touchées par l’élévation du niveau de la mer et les tempêtes, en passant par Mumbai, Manille, Londres, Nairobi, Kinshasa, Yaoundé, plus de 550 manifestations ont été organisées dans 60 pays, avec pour point d’orgue une marche à New York le 17 septembre 2023. Cette initiative de l’organisation de défense de la nature Greenpeace, vient en soutien à l’appel d’António Guterres pour que les nations prennent des engagements ambitieux afin d’éliminer progressivement les combustibles fossiles, lors du Sommet sur l’ambition climatique qu’il convoque pour ce 20 septembre 2023 au siège des Nations unies à New York.
À Yaoundé au Cameroun, les militants de Greenpeace se sont rassemblés le vendredi 15 septembre 2023 à l’esplanade de la sous-préfecture de Tsinga, pour demander l’arrêt de la production de combustibles fossiles. « Les combustibles fossiles sont un poison pour toutes les générations. Ils sont la première cause des changements climatiques. Plus de 90% de la matière plastique par exemple est produite à base de combustible fossile. Et ici à Yaoundé comme dans plusieurs autres villes du Cameroun, nous vivons les effets du changement climatique. Les familles subissent de plus en plus les affres des inondations. C’est connu, le plastique bouche les caniveaux et quand il pleut l’eau ne circule pas correctement. Il faut arrêter sa production », déclare Marie Grace Ngo Mbog, la coordinatrice des volontaires Greenpeace au Cameroun.
« Dans une ville comme Kinshasa où plus de 15 millions d’habitants sont exposés à la toxicité de combustibles fossiles, nous ne pouvons que prendre notre courage avec nos deux mains pour exhiber une pancarte avec un message fort : “Le pétrole, le gaz et le charbon tuent » déclare pour sa part Jersey Mpanzu, le coordonnateur des volontaires Greenpeace de la RDC.
Le Sommet mondial sur l’Ambition climatique se tient en marge de la 78e Assemblée générale des Nations unies. Ces assises visent également une évaluation des Objectifs de développement durable (ODD).
Adopté le 25 septembre 2015 par les chefs d’État et de gouvernement réunis lors du Sommet spécial sur le développement durable, l’Agenda 2030 fixe 17 Objectifs de développement durable (ODD) déclinés en 169 cibles. Ces derniers succèdent aux objectifs du millénaire pour le développement (OMD) pour répondre aux défis de la mondialisation en se fondant sur les 3 piliers du développement durable, à savoir, l’environnement, le social et l’économie.
Boris Ngounou
AFRIQUE : Greenpeace soutient António Guterres pour l’abandon des énergies fossiles
À l’invitation du secrétaire général de l’Organisation des Nations unies (ONU), un Sommet mondial sur l’Ambition climatique se tient le 20 septembre 2023 à New York aux États unis d’Amérique. António Guterres saisit cette occasion pour lancer un appel pour l’abandon des combustibles fossiles. Pour apporter son soutien à cet appel du patron de l’ONU, Greenpeace a mobilisé des centaines de militants à travers plus de 550 actions organisées dans 60 pays dont le Cameroun, et la République démocratique du Congo (RDC).
Global warming is being blamed as the main cause of storm Daniel, which devastated eastern Libya on 10 September 2023. Coming from Greece via Turkey and Bulgaria, the extreme weather phenomenon caused massive flooding, killing thousands of people. In its 6th report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicted disastrous scenarios for Africa. Floods will displace 2.7 million people by 2050.
Libya has never before been so plunged into mourning by floods. Several towns and villages in the east of this North African country were affected on Sunday 10 September 2023, including Benghazi, Al Bayda and Battah. The city of Derna, where the phenomenon was most disastrous, must also be mentioned. The rains were so intense that a first dam and then a second broke, causing a wall of water to surge over the city of some 100,000 inhabitants.
The provisional death toll presented by the local authorities on the afternoon of Tuesday 12 September 2023 was 2,300. The humanitarian organisation Red Crescent added that almost 10,000 people were missing.
Before arriving in Libya, storm Daniel, the cause of the deadly floods, formed on 4 September 2023 in Greece, where villages were ravaged by water and 14 people were killed, according to official figures. The storm passed through Turkey, killing eight people, and Bulgaria, where it caused four deaths.
The theory of a climatic catastrophe
The explanations given so far put forward the hypothesis of global warming. While floods have not appeared as a result of climate change, each additional degree increases the amount of water vapour in the atmosphere, increasing the risk of heavy rainfall. Libya’s National Meteorological Centre said that the level of torrential rain was between 150 and 240 millimetres (mm), compared with the usual level of 4 mm.
According to Christophe Cassou, climatologist and director of research at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in France, Daniel formed at the end of an « Omega » blockage, which consists of an anticyclone with very high temperatures in the centre, and rain with cool temperatures at both ends. The effects of this type of situation are being « boosted » by climate change. « With the same atmospheric circulation, this omega would not have had the same impact in the 1950s or 1960s, » explains the researcher.
To be sure that storm Daniel was caused by climate change, we will have to wait for the results of an attribution study. Researchers will be working to establish the precise extent to which climate disruption has made such a climatic phenomenon more likely.
In the first part of its 6th report, published on 9 August 2021, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicates that global warming is accelerating faster than predicted. In Africa, United Nations scientists are predicting massive forced displacement of many households as a result of global warming. Flooding, for example, will displace almost 2.7 million Africans. Fishing in tropical Africa will be affected, with potential catches falling by 40-70%.
Fanta Mabo
LIBYA: climate is said to be the cause of the floods that ravaged East of the country
Global warming is being blamed as the main cause of storm Daniel, which devastated eastern Libya on 10 September 2023. Coming from Greece via Turkey and Bulgaria, the extreme weather phenomenon caused massive flooding, killing thousands of people. In its 6th report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicted disastrous scenarios for Africa. Floods will displace 2.7 million people by 2050.
With Africa in need of more than $300 billion a year for climate adaptation, policymakers and government officials gathered at a high-level event on the sidelines of the African Climate Summit in Nairobi called for innovative mechanisms to unlock climate finance. The event, co-organised by AfriCatalyst and Open Society Foundations (OSF), explored how the continent can successfully leverage debt-for-nature swaps to finance climate action.
This year, AfriCatalyst has played a leading role in shaping the climate change debate on the African continent. The pan-African development consultancy, based in Dakar, Senegal, publishes weekly analyses of climate-related policies that offer guidance to investors, policy-makers and media professionals. At a high-level event co-organised with the Open Society Foundations on the sidelines of the African Climate Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, AfriCatalyst launched its flagship policy paper entitled « Scaling up debt swaps for climate and nature in Africa ».
The paper explains how the continent can restructure its debt to align with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate resilience, presenting a win-win situation for both foreign creditors and African nations. The Executive Vice President of Finance and Banking at the African Export-Import Bank (Afrexim Bank), however, emphasised the key role played by multilateral development institutions in providing guarantees, attracting foreign investors and financing the early stages of implementing debt-for-nature mechanisms. Denys Denya emphasised the bank’s commitment to working with relevant stakeholders to address the climate issue.
« The African Export-Import Bank has set aside $500 million to help with climate projects. The private sector considers certain climate projects to be risky. The public sector cannot finance these projects on its own. By providing concessional finance, grant finance and guarantees to investors to look at projects differently », he said.
The debt-for-nature mechanism was cited as one of the climate financing models on which agreements would be reached at the first African Climate Summit. The organisers announced agreements worth several hundred million dollars.
The debt-for-nature swap is often presented as a technique for relieving the debt of developing countries. It involves extending payment terms, reducing interest rates, granting new loans at lower rates than conventional and even cancelling debts. This technique, invented by the American biologist Thomas Lovejoy, considered to be the godfather of biodiversity, ultimately consists of exchanging part of the foreign debt for local investments aimed at protecting the environment.
The debt-for-nature swap is one of the innovative mechanisms that experts are recommending to unblock climate financing in Africa. « It can’t be business as usual – we have to innovate. We need to create a Triple A of climate finance: Adaptability, Affordability and Accessibility of climate finance. I believe that adaptation and mitigation can go hand in hand », said Ibrahima Cheick Diong, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Director General of the African Risk Capacity Group (ARCG).
According to AfriCatalyst, Africa needs more than 300 billion dollars a year for climate adaptation.
Fanta Mabo
AFRICA: debt-for-climate swaps once again recommended
With Africa in need of more than $300 billion a year for climate adaptation, policymakers and government officials gathered at a high-level event on the sidelines of the African Climate Summit in Nairobi called for innovative mechanisms to unlock climate finance. The event, co-organised by AfriCatalyst and Open Society Foundations (OSF), explored how the continent can successfully leverage debt-for-nature swaps to finance climate action.
The project entitled « A Pan-African and Transdisciplinary Lens on the Margins: Coping with the Risks of Extreme Events » (PALM-TREEs) has been launched. Funded by the UK government’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the initiative aims to obtain data on the psycho-sociological impact of climate change on vulnerable communities in Africa.
The UK Minister for Development and Africa took advantage of the first African Climate Summit to announce the official launch of the project entitled « A Pan-African and Transdisciplinary Lens on the Margins: Coping with the Risks of Extreme Events » (PALM-TREEs). This project, which has been running since 5 September 2023, is part of the Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CLARE) initiative, a UK-Canada research framework programme on adaptation and resilience to climate change, funded to the tune of 120 million Canadian dollars, mainly by the UK government’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).
Through a transdisciplinary and pan-African approach, the project aims to empower marginalised communities to better respond to extreme climate events in Africa, such as droughts, floods and heat waves, and their interconnected and cascading socio-economic impacts.
Planned to last three and a half years, the research will focus on flooding in Kitui and Turkana counties in Kenya, flood dynamics and gender-based violence in KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, the impact of floods and drought on women’s agricultural productivity in Cameroon and Mbanza-Ngungu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the impact of heat stress on the health and livelihoods of communities in informal settlements in Lagos, Nigeria, and the impact of droughts, floods and water management on various communities in the Volta Basins and Accra, Ghana.
The mental health of climate-displaced people
PALM-TREEs will be implemented over a period of three and a half years by a consortium of universities and institutions led by the University of Cape Town, the University of Yaoundé 1 and the University of Oxford. The project is managed by a consortium director and principal investigators responsible for coordinating research in Southern, Central, East and West Africa.
According to the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), more than 20 million people are displaced each year and many more are affected by floods, droughts and heat waves. These extreme events are followed by negative effects on mental health and well-being, and overlap with internal conflicts, security risks and multiple forms of vulnerability. Limited access to resources, aid and services during and after climate shocks in sub-Saharan Africa pushes communities to the margins of society and limits their capacity to adapt.
Fanta Mabo
AFRICA: launch of the PALM-TREEs project on the psycho-sociological impact of climate
The project entitled « A Pan-African and Transdisciplinary Lens on the Margins: Coping with the Risks of Extreme Events » (PALM-TREEs) has been launched. Funded by the UK government’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the initiative aims to obtain data on the psycho-sociological impact of climate change on vulnerable communities in Africa.