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Climate Financing, Water Revealed as Key Objectives at COP27 (Environmental Leader)
As COP27 enters its final week, financing global sustainability programs continue to be a significant focus with water conservation and resilience ranking high on the list of delegates’ priorities. With the conference nearing its end, Egypt Foreign Minister and COP President Sameh Shoukry called on attendees to make a push to establish concrete agreements to make progress on international climate goals. Among the main areas of focus continues to be financing, especially in regard to developing nations. Funding of international projects is one of the four broken-out objectives of COP27, especially to meet previously established COP commitments. That includes a pledge from more than a decade ago of $100 billion by 2020, which has mostly fallen short.
Progress on COP26 pledges: finance (Economist Impact)
At the 2009 Copenhagen COP rich nations promised US$100bn per year in climate finance to support mitigation and adaptation efforts in less wealthy countries by 2020. The commitment was never fulfilled. According OECD data, in 2020, countries mobilised US$83.3bn, with private sector financing accounting for 16%. While this indicates a gradual improvement since 2015, where just US$52.4bn was deploy
At COP27, Our Climate Future is Female: A Progress Report on Implementing U.S. Efforts to Advance Women and Girls’ Climate Action (US Department of State)
On November 14, 2022, Gender Day at COP27, the U.S. government is proud to announce the following strategies, initiatives, and programs addressing the disproportionate impacts of the climate crisis on women and girls and empowering women and girls as climate leaders: Launched through a five-year partnership with Amazon, with initial seed funding of $6 million, the fund will leverage public and private sector investment to increase access to climate finance for women-led climate organizations, and businesses that advance gender-equitable climate solutions in least developed countries.
Data Dive: How Africa can help drive global climate change solutions (ONE Campaign)
African countries will need an estimated $50 billion per year in climate finance by 2050 to adapt to climate change. Rich countries must do more to mitigate their climate impacts and to support African countries’ efforts to prepare for a changed climate.
Time to deliver on a 13 year old climate promise (ONE Campaign)
At COP15 in 2009, high-income countries committed to mobilise $100 billion in climate finance per year by 2020, specifically to address the needs of lower-income countries. Climate finance from wealthy countries is significantly lower than the trillions of dollars needed, and remains far below what they promised.
World Bank Group Launches Global Shield Financing Facility to Help Developing Countries Adapt to Climate Change (World Bank)
The Global Shield Financing Facility will finance integrated financial protection packages that offer coordinated and consolidated financial support to those vulnerable to climate shocks and disasters. This facility will support the Global Shield Against Climate Risks, a joint initiative launched today at COP27 by the G7 and V20 to better protect poor and vulnerable people from disasters by pre-arranging more financing before disasters strike.
World Bank Group Announces International Low-Carbon Hydrogen Partnership (World Bank)
Today, on Energy Day at COP27, the World Bank Group announced the creation of the Hydrogen for Development Partnership (H4D), a new global initiative to boost the deployment of low-carbon hydrogen in developing countries. The partnership will foster capacity building and regulatory solutions, business models, and technologies toward the roll out of low-carbon hydrogen in developing countries.
Particularly exposed to climate shocks, African cities are turning to adaptation and resilience (AfDB)
What is less well known is the growing impact of climate change on urban areas, which are already under pressure, especially demographically: no less than 70% of African cities are highly vulnerable to climate shocks... Floods cause significant material damage and affect the most vulnerable populations in informal settlements, which are numerous in African cities that have grown too fast, and are often built on areas at risk, along rivers or on hillsides exposed to landslides.
Africa’s informal cities need more than green infrastructure to weather the effects of climate change (Brookings)
This lament, from a female market trader in Accra, Ghana, epitomizes the anxiety that permeates the daily existence of those working and living in informal conditions in African cities, an anxiety which will only get worse as extreme weather events triggered by climate change become more common in Africa. We draw on interviews with policymakers and local politicians as well as focus group discussions with market traders, neighborhood associations, and traditional authorities to develop a framework about how climate change and informality intersect in African cities and to map out the tensions between formal governance structures and the realities of the informal city that obstruct inclusive adaptation.
‘Natural gas is not an ideological issue, it’s a pragmatic one,’ says AfDB’s Adesina (AfDB)
The president of the African Development Bank shares his views on investment opportunities, financial management and the growing threat of climate insecurity. Those kinds of capital efficiency efforts are what you need to get institutional investors in Africa to trust that they can invest and make money in investing in infrastructure.
Facing a call for climate reparations, wealthy nations propose an insurance scheme (Grist)
Harjeet Singh, head of global political strategy at the Climate Action Network, an international coalition of more than 1,800 environmental groups, said that in past years wealthy nations have used insurance programs to distract from the demand for direct loss and damage funding. InsuResilience and other insurance programs that have been championed by wealthy nations have been inadequate to meet the scale of loss and damage that people in climate-vulnerable countries are facing, advocates told Grist.
A just transition that leaves no one behind (UNECA)
Director for Technology, Climate Change and Natural Resources Management at the UN Economic Commission (ECA) for Africa, Jean-Paul Adam, has emphasized the need for additional financial resources to achieve Africa’s just transition.
Developing countries, China seek ‘loss and damage’ fund - draft proposal (Yahoo News)
The G77 bloc of developing countries and China are proposing the establishment of a new ‘loss and damage’ fund to provide finance to countries hit by climate disasters, a draft text of their proposal to the COP27 summit showed. The text seen by Reuters set out their proposal for a new fund, with its principles and operating policies to be established by the next round of climate talks in Dubai in 2023.The subject of loss and damage has for the first time been included on the official COP agenda. But developed and developing nations are split over whether a new mechanism is needed or whether existing financial institutions can deliver the cash needed.
Climate “loss and damage” talks stall on definition (News24)
Green hydrogen could sustainably industrialise Africa, boost GDP in six key countries – new report (Engineering News)
A positive step to ensure that least-developed countries become stepping-stones to wider and more inclusive regional value chains and trade-led growth is the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
The Egyptian government has launched the Sharm El Sheikh Guidebook for Just Financing at a roundtable event held 10 November during COP27. The guidebook was produced jointly by the Egyptian Ministry of International Cooperation and more than a hundred development partners, corporations, development finance institutions and non-profit organizations. These include the International Monetary Fund, Rockefeller Foundation, the World Economic Forum, Climate Investment Funds and Citi, the banking group. The publication posits that climate financing should complement rather than replace development financing, guaranteeing that countries and regions that most need climate financing are able to access it.
Leveraging private sector development to drive green transition in Africa (UNECA)
The ECA Office for North Africa will hold, in partnership with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) a COP27 side event on “Leveraging private sector development to drive green transition” on 15 November 2022 in Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt).Africa is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change despite being responsible for only 3.8% of global CO2 emissions. The region is also particularly exposed to increases in traditional energy prices.
OPEC Fund and AfDB Strengthen Ties at COP27 (Energy Capital and Power)
Electric Vehicles Are Duty Free In Mauritius! (CleanTechnica)
Africa can seize green industry opportunities if policies are clear (Engineering News)
Here’s how African leaders can close the climate finance gap (WEF)
Climate Change: African countries need to work together - Monica (TVC News)
The White Paper posits that given Nigeria’s large and growing population, achieving this balance between trade, energy and climate change is a matter of national, continental, and global concern. “As you said, it was a collaborative effort whereby you have people from the private sector, the academia, the civil society organizations, government institutions coming together to really look at what the situation was in Nigeria and how to make sure that we can come together, put forward a message whereby, when priorities for global climate change are discussed, we also have a reflection of what is important to Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
Analyst sees renewables as only practical way to quickly boost South Africa’s electricity generation (Engineering News)
Regarding increasing South Africa’s electricity generating capacity in the immediate future, wind, solar photovoltaic (PV) and hybrid power systems were the “only game in town”, affirmed EE Business Intelligence MD Chris Yelland on Monday. He was addressing the Energy Indaba conference in Cape Town. He pointed out that national electricity utility Eskom had about 100 generators (of different types
Rich nations stick to coal phase-out as China builds new plants (Engineering News)
Rich nations have stuck to pledges to phase out coal power despite the energy crunch in the wake of the Ukraine war but China’s expanding coal fleet risks counteracting the climate impact of the closures, a report said on Tuesday. Countries within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) policy forum and the European Union are on track to close more than 75% of their coal power capacity from 2010 to 2030, the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA) said.
Particularly exposed to climate shocks, African cities are turning to adaptation and resilience - World (ReliefWeb)
It is well known that Africa, although it contributes only about 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, could pay the heaviest price for the global acceleration of climate change. What is less well known is the growing impact of climate change on urban areas, which are already under pressure, especially demographically: no less than 70% of African cities are highly vulnerable to climate shocks... yet they are also the economic epicenters of the continent. And they are still growing.
Local news
Transforming SA’s international trade/free flow of goods. (Farmers Review Africa)
Information and Communications Technology has undoubtedly changed the face of global customs. The introduction of new technologies like cloud computing, mobile advancements, information management and analytics has impacted customs in many different ways, but also provides exciting opportunities for customs officials, traders and other supply chain stakeholders for greater connectivity. World Customs Organisation secretary general Kunio Mikuriya believes the development and adoption of digital solutions, such as big data, telematics, the internet of things, artificial intelligence and machine learning, will make life easier for trading communities, border agencies and customs officers by increasing operational performance.
Doubt remains as to whether Steel Master Plan can rescue the steel industry (Engineering News)
The World Steel Association has lowered its forecast for global steel demand for this year, anticipating that demand will contract by 2.3% as the global economy struggles with macroeconomic headwinds. South Africa’s steel industry has also been under pressure for years owing to a prolonged period of economic decline.
South Africa set for stable and quality new-season stone fruit (FreshPlaza)
South African stone fruit suppliers are predicting a stable and high-quality 2022/23 export season, with improved volumes and a return to smooth trading after a series of logistical challenges over the past year. According to figures from trade body Hortgro, exporters are forecasting a 4% increase each for plums and peaches at 86,000t and 6,550t respectively, with a healthy 15% rise in nectarines, taking it to 23,650t.
Kenyan traders buy Ethiopian miraa for Somalia market on high costs (Business Daily)
Miraa traders have shifted to Ethiopia as a source market for the stimulant, where they are buying nearly half of the allocated quota for the Somali market as high costs in Kenya force them to abandon the local crop. The traders said they procure at least 40 percent of the 19 tonnes that the Somali market has allowed Kenyan business people to export to Mogadishu from Ethiopia, denying Kenya millions of shillings in earnings.
Trade Ministry, stakeholders to develop National Laboratory Policy (The Point)
Vieira, who is providing technical assistance for the development of the Policy, said the development process of the document was designed to identify a set of activities/steps for the collaborative development and validation of the Policy as well as to identify the main stakeholders needed to carry out the planned activities. The working group will review and analyze the national context and laboratory-related issues and formulate a draft laboratory policy document, he said, adding that the group is expected to undertake preliminary preparations including documentary review and validation of methodology and tools to be used.
Namibia to develop new conservation agriculture framework to ensure food security (Xinhua)
Namibia is set to develop a new conservation agriculture strategic framework to inspire local farmers to adopt sustainable agriculture practices that ensure resilience, food security, and nutrition as well as environmental protection, an official said Monday. Speaking at a workshop to develop the Comprehensive Conservation Agriculture Program, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Assistant Representative, Ferdinard Mwapopi said the framework is to help farmers increase production and productivity, thus reducing risks and building resilience to climate change.
National Seed Forum urges government to increase funding for agricultural development (Myjoyonline)
Participants of the 3rd National Seed Forum in Accra have urged government to increase funding for agricultural development to 10% of GDP as agreed by African Union leaders under the 2014 Malabo Declaration. In a communique issued at the end of the forum, the participants said in recognition of the critical role of research in agriculture, at least 1% of the quantum should be reserved to support varietal research and development. Participants suggested government places levies on agricultural imports and commercial transactions in the context of an active Plant and Fertilizer Fund, to raise money for sustainable fund varietal research and development. They also urged that the process of variety release and registration and its adjunct, the National Seed Bank operations, should be properly resourced and technically structured, as per international norms and standards.
African trade and integration
Countries across Africa are facing a perfect storm: armed conflicts, rising food and energy insecurity, skyrocketing inflation and debt, shrinking fiscal space and mounting climate catastrophes. Yet, despite these challenges, Africa includes some of the world’s fastest growing economies with the potential to lead in the global energy transition. Strengthened public-private partnerships and multilateral cooperation are needed to advance inclusive, resilient and sustainable industrial development in Africa. A new financial architecture with greater access to finance and lower cost of capital is key unlocking investments at scale. We must work collectively to boost entrepreneurship, harness the potential of new technology, expand opportunities for youth, women and girls, build climate resilience and foster competitiveness and trade.
Africa must leverage on IPRs as a tool to facilitate economic transformation (Chronicle)
LAST week, the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (Aripo) and the Intellectual Property Rights and Innovation Project in Africa (AfrIPI) held a joint communication training in Harare focused on unpacking the Regional Intellectual Property Rights System, which drew a diversity of participation from across the continent. Zimbabwe hosts the Aripo headquarters and the communication training seminar was the first of its kind in the region as communicators had an opportunity to learn the technical side of intellectual property (IP) and how to demystify it to the general public.
Africa needs bold actions to tap youth potential for industrialization – ONE Campaign (Businessday)
Ahead of the AU summit on Industrialization and Economic Diversification, ONE Campaign is advocating for a raft of urgent and bold policy actions to tap youth potential towards building a better and prosperous Africa. The highly anticipated summit will be held later this month in Niger as Africa recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and grapples with after-shocks from global economic and political events.
There is no doubt that counterfeit goods are thriving in Africa as average incomes across the continent continue to increase, thereby attracting expansion prospects from global brands who aim to generate additional revenue streams by increasing their market shares in this historically neglected geographical area. This low level of intellectual property (IP) awareness in Africa, including the dismally low level of IP registrations from African countries themselves, is a major concern for entities such as the African Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO).
President Ramaphosa calls for AU to join G20 leaders group (SAnews)
President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for the African Union to be made a permanent member of the G20. The G20 is a group of 20 countries with leading economies which come together to discuss policy on health, trade and other issues. The President was speaking during the Working Session on Food and Energy Security at the G20 Leaders’ Summit, held in Bali, Indonesia.
Experts urge African youth to seek jobs in the forestry sector (The East African)
Godwin Kowero, director African Forest Forum (AFF), encouraged the youth to look at different value chains, products and ecosystem services in the forestry sector that they can be involved. “The scientific community can help prepare young people in Africa to sustainably govern and manage the continents’ forest resources,” she said stating that their enthusiasm, creativity and technology savviness could help address the crises of forest degradation and climate change even as they create jobs and wealth for the continent, and create synergies across borders for knowledge exchange.
U.S.-Africa Business Forum: strengthening the U.S. and Africa’s commercial ties (US Chamber of Commerce)
Over three days in December, President Joe Biden will host the second U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, D.C.--the first head of state gathering of African leaders and a U.S. president since 2014. The Summit, taking place from December 13-15, includes a CEO business forum for which the Chamber is an official partner and focuses on growing the commercial partnership between the U.S. and Africa. Priority discussion topics include the shared U.S.-Africa commitment to bolstering trade and investment flows, strengthening regional and global health, addressing food security, promoting peace and security, supporting climate sustainability, and engaging the African diaspora.
Global economy
More recently, in my role as task team coordinator of the UN Global Crisis Response Group, I have seen first-hand the incredible value of reliable and timely statistics for crisis management and decision-making. Fourth, we need to support developing countries in their statistical infrastructures, especially to use digital data.
UNITAR And UNCTAD To Jointly Hold a Roundtable On “Global Rules That Advance Local Solutions” (Mirage News)
Geneva, Switzerland – The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) will jointly conduct a roundtable discussion on the topic “The Global Rules that Advance Local Solutions” on 24 November 2022, at Palais des Nations in Geneva.
SPS standards “key” to international trade (Fruitnet)
Freshfel Europe has called for the “meticulous implementation” of the World Trade Organization (WTO) SPS and Trade Facilitation agreements principles.
PM sets out five-point economic action plan for the G20 (GOV.UK)
This includes by advancing bilateral free trade agreements and through reform of the World Trade Organization.
Bali Compendium Determinant of Investment Policy of G20 Nations, Bahlil Says (Tempo)
The compendium was prepared in collaboration with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Trading our way to greater prosperity and security (Mirage News)
We want to see China’s trade measures impeding a wide range of Australian exports removed, including the duties on barley and wine that Australia is challenging through the World Trade Organization dispute settlement system.
Deglobalization is not an option for any one of us, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says (CNBC)
“We need them not to take forward a new agreement to the World Trade Organization, but to keep it working, to apply the rules.”
President Xi Jinping Attends the 17th G20 Summit and Delivers Important Remarks (MFA China)
President Xi stressed that all G20 members should take the responsibility inherent in being major international and regional players, and should lead by example in promoting development of all nations, improving the well-being for the whole mankind, and advancing progress of the entire world. Countries should respect each other, seek common grounds while reserving differences, live together in peace, and promote an open world economy.
Members review trade agreements involving Egypt, Israel, Kenya, Korea, Mexico, Türkiye, UK (WTO)
Israel said the UK was its sixth largest destination for exports and ninth largest source of imports in 2021, adding that both parties have launched further negotiations for a modern and comprehensive free trade agreement to include new areas not covered by the current agreement. The Trade and Partnership Agreement between the United Kingdom and Israel (Goods) entered into force on 1 January 2021.
UNCTAD awards Brazil, Egypt and Lesotho agencies for promoting sustainable investment in agriculture (UNCTAD)
UNCTAD has awarded investment promotion agencies (IPAs) from Brazil, Egypt and Lesotho for excellence in promoting sustainable investment in agriculture, contributing to food security and development. The project is in line with Egypt’s 2030 sustainable development vision to achieve food security while adapting to climate change using smart agriculture systems.
Four African countries back agreement against illegal, unregulated fishing (Down to Earth Magazine)
100 countries have signed the Agreement on Port State Measures — the first internationally binding agreement in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing
Diaz: Air transport plays integral role in global economy (Capital FM Kenya)
Air transport is an important enabler to achieving economic growth and development. Air transport facilitates integration into the global economy and provides vital connectivity on a national, regional, and international scale. It helps generate trade, cargo business, promote tourism, and create employment opportunities.
