The Eye Newspaper

Thursday, December 17, 2015

African CSO’s Challenged to Monitor Green Climate Funds in Africa

Aaron kaahYancho (PAMACC TEAM PARIS)

In seeking solutions on how to address the adaptation needs of the most vulnerable communities in Africa on cop21, Civil Society Organizations in Africans meeting under the coordination of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance PACJA and its partners last evening agreed that better stakeholder engagement and monitoring was needed in accessing and executing the Green Climate Funds GCF in Africa.

Acknowledging that Africa was seeking urgent transformation solutions, the executive secretary general of PACJA MithikaMwenda while warning that Africa should not be short changed in climate funding reminded all that Africa needed adequate and proper finance delivered schemes for our communities. He harped on the existence of the GCF and called on the CSO’S and the GCF representatives to ensure that the cash was not only available but accessible to the needy communities. In questioning how the processes and monitoring would be managed Mithika said a lot of questions still remain unanswered.“Financing is critical for action and we want to know”He told the GCF representatives.

Reacting to the worries of the Executive secretary general of PACJA, Clifford Polycarp - Country Representative Dialogue manager of the Green Climate Fund GCF in the Republic of Korea called on the CSO’s in Africa to create an institutional mind-set for success. On closing the financial adaptation gap Clifford remarked that his organization had pledged 10.8billion and 60% had been realised in terms of resources from 36 countries but cried that more resources were yet to be mobilised.“Mobilising resources is an effort yet to be achieved” he said. Clifford went further to explain that the fund had a strategy of funding 50% of its adaptation projects in the rural communities of Africa. He told the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance that the credibility of accredited CSO’s and community base organizations was solicited in the proper implementation of GCF in Africa. “This will help to provide feedback on who was benefitting and the impact in your communities” He observed.

Taking the cue, Fiona Percy form CARE INTERNATIONAL reflected on how adaptation finance couldhelp the people who are most vulnerable in Africa. “Those who are most vulnerable have the least voice” she said. Fiona told the CSOs that her organization had been running an adaptation learning program for Africa aimed at increasing the capacities of vulnerable people in Sun Sahara Africa to adapt to climate variabilities. Affirming that vulnerabilities had left a lot disparity in Africa, Fiona challenged African civil society organizations to have a voice and decisions over their own destinies. “Keep an eye on what the funding is doing” She cautioned.

Citing the good examples on some of the GCF projects in Africa WangareKirumba of the Kenyan National Environment Authority (NEMA) examined how far Africa had gone in converting these funds for its profits. “Only 20 institutions had benefitted these funds over the last 6years on Africa” she lamented. Classifying this number as minored Wangare hammered on the fact that there was need to mobilise internally to ensure that climate finance mobilisation is an institutionally on Africa.“A Stakeholder engagement is critical. The capacity to coordinate should be figured out properly by CSO’s to move from consultation to engagement” Wangare remarked. Calling on CSO’s to strategies on how to getting more resources into the accreditation process in order to benefit these funds properly Wangare called for capacity building at all levels to meets up with the uncertainties andfuture expectations.

Issues pertaining to gender disparities and adaptation, stakeholder engagement and credibility, grants, loans and capital contributions were also examined by the panellists.

In closing the financial needs of the vulnerable communities on adaptation the GCF will make available 50billion dollars annually till 5050. In 2014 the Fund approved 20 projects in the world to the tune of 170 billion US dollars with 7 owned by African entities. The challenged is now in the hands of the African CSO’s to cease this opportunity and makes things better for the future according to WangareKirumba of the Kenyan National Environment Authority. This session was moderated by Sam Ogallah Samson PACJA programs manager.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Africa maintains the Issue of Differentiation is Important on COP 21

Aaron kaahYancho (PAMACC TEAM PARIS)

“The debate on differentiation is a red line for Africa and has to continue on Cop 21 because Africa is looking at it from a historic perspective”. Tosi MpanuMpanu the former chair of the Africa Group of Negotiator (AGN) reiterated during a focused working session of the Pan Africa Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) that aimed at reflecting on the potential outcomes of Cop21 and its adaptation needs for Africa. While insisting that it was necessary for the debate to ensue, Mpanu called on the Annex II countries to pay their debt. “It is not charity- it is an obligation” Mpanu demanded.

According to Mpanu, developed countries hold historical responsibility for climate change. Referring to the Kyoto Protocol he recounted how the Annex II countries owe a “climate debt” to developing countries. While digging up issues of Finance, adaptation, technology transfer which the former chair termed primordial for Africa, he enveloped the support of the developed countries to Africa as an ultimate test of good will. On this score, Mpanu said there was no clarity about the climate finance donations for a post-2020 prospects. He frown that the proposed US$100 billion of climate finance was merely a paper tiger. Comparing and contrasting Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), which are likely to become legally binding instrument at the end of cop21, without a legally binding financial framework challenged Africa to strengthen its climate action.

Expressing hope that COP 21 can redynamize confidence in multilateral processes following the failure of Copenhagen, Hon AminataNiang, Member, Pan African Parliament who represented the president of the Pan African Parliamentary group on climate change confirmed like the UN Secretary general that there was no time to waste in tackling climate change . Hon. Aminata said the hopes for Africa was for temperature to stay below 1.5*C. “And to achieve this we needed an equitable agreement on Paris to rise to the challenge” She added.

While explaining the genesis of the negotiations earlier on, Seth Osafo former Senior Legal Advisor, UNFCCC had thrown more light on the Kyoto Protocol. Seth pinpointed that Africa needed only a legal binding document that was applicable to

all parties. Examining the Kyoto and it legal implementations Seth decried why the issue of differentiation as contained in Article 3 of the UNFCCC was being pushed aside by the developed countries on Cop21. “Paris seems to be talking more about an agreement and this agreement might contain anything or nothing at all.” He said. He went further to classify issues of historical responsibility, differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) and equity as the only game changers for Africa. Extending the solidarity of the Asian civil society groups with their Africa Peers, LidyNacpil, Regional Coordinator, and Jubilee South commented the Africa Group of Negotiators at the UNFCCC. Lidy shamed the divide and rule tactic of the wealthy countries to weaken the coalition of the developing countries . .” Developing countries have the moral authority to call rich governments to account for delivering pledges that are not even half of their fair share.” She lamented. Lidy Urged the African negotiators to insist on scaling up of the financing targets.

Maria Phiri, Gender and Climate Change Expert, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) called for a gender sensitive agreement on Cop21. While insisting that specific guidelines must be laid down Maria maintained that the issue of gender at COP 21 was also anchored on historical responsibility and equity principles.

Moderating the session MithikaMwenda Secretary General, of PACJA had questioned the outcome from COP 21 drafted text which stood at 50. “We must question why many options exist in the text and why we do not yet see a ray of light as we face out in the first week of these deliberations.” Mithika cried.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Accelerate Negotiations on the New Climate Deal. African CSO’s tell COP 21.

Aaron kaahYancho (PAMACC TEAM PARIS)

The African civil society led by the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) has called for an acceleration of a final climatedeal and for the provision of more fundsfor the protection of the rights of indigenous people in Africa. Thiscall was made during a press briefing which held over the heels of their protest rally that happened on the side lines of the ongoing Climate change negotiation in Paris.

Reflecting on the red lines for Africa Augustine Njamnshi from BCDP, Cameroon and Technical/Political Affairs Chair of Pan Africa Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) lamented the slow pace of the negotiations and said African civil society protest to demand for urgent action; adequate adaptation finance was in orde. “We were promised that emission cuts would be strengthened this year, they weren’t. Instead African countries are been saddled with additional load of paying for climate debt which they least contributed”. Njamnshi said.

Looking at what 1.5 means to a binding deal, Robert Chimambo, of Zambia Climate change Network said Africans stand point on this was clear and need no compromise. Robert called on the developed countries to refrain from the tactics of playing for time, to one of action and concrete solutions. “We demand equity, fair deal and a legally binding agreement” Robert said adding that time was of the essence. He further added that developed countries must be mandated to pay their contributions on all elements including provisions of money for adaptation to developing countries.

Assessing the tortoise path so far taken by African civil society observers on COP deliberations MithikaMwenda, Secretary General of Pan African Climate Justice Alliance PACJA decried the slow pace of the negotiations. While frowning that more talking was going on than action Mithika challenged Africans to stay united and strong in view of a new text from the Paris meeting. Mithika said any mistakes on Paris were a legalization of a death sentence for Africa. “Any climate change deal that is leading to 3*C will cause untold problems of hunger, starvation, disasters, conflicts and wars in Africa and should be rejected”. The PACJA boss warned. Mithika called on all African Civil society observers to keep on tracking the events without compromise for the sake of the continent

Decrying while the developed countries were showing no sense of urgency in formulating a a new climate deal, Sam Ogallah of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) attributed this to an issue of self-interest and the horse trading that goes behind the negotiations. Sam charged that Africa will not be deceived by technical or procedural tricks in asking for a deal that is ambitious and with equity.

Reacting to the news that the US government was excluding itself from any future compensations on loss and damage, Panelists during the briefing all concluded that it was a retreat from the previous negotiations and advancement to a new climate deal. “We need to be alert”. Mithika remarked.Panelists during the briefing decried that this Paris climate talks could trigger even more serious consequences for Africa if care wasn’t taken to protect the rights of the indigenous people. The Press briefing also tasked the negotiators to hasten up the drafting of a new climate deal rather than the ongoing delay tactics that were prevailing to give room for critique and feedback.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Agreeing on 1.5*C is Establishing Climate Justice on COP 21 Human Rights Observers say

Aaron kaahYancho (PAMACC TEAM PARIS)

The International Youth and Students’ Movement of the United Nations(ISMUN) in collaboration with the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA)have noted that world leaders will be held accountable if the 1.5*C target is not signed on Paris.

Holding under the theme “Leaving No one behind and Establishing Climate Justice”as one of the side events in this ongoing climate change arrangement, Budi Tjahjono advocacy officer for a Voice at the United Nations lamented that a 1.5*C temperature rise will make more suffers in the poor regions of the world like Africa, the Caribbean’s and Latin America where people depended on natural resources for hope more desperate. He argued that the US position of blocking the use of a human rightslanguage in the drafted agreement had serious consequences for humanity. “An aspect of human rights in the agreement calls for a historic responsibility and engagement with the rich countries which has much to do with compensations” Budi argued.

Calling for human rights to be put on the center of the discussions, Budi stressed that this could assist government s and member states under this treaty to act accordingly. Speaking for the Caribbean Youth Environment Network Dickson Barry saidtheir youth Movement was advocating for a 1.5*C temperature fixing agreement to be finalized on Paris. According to Barry nothing less than that, was like “putting a gun to their heads”. This youth leader said 1.5 *C for all the 800 youths in the 50different states in the Caribbean meant justice and staying alive. “We want a world that we will inherit and hand to posterity”. Barry added. Weeping that the Caribbean would be at risk if global warming wasn’t checked, Barry cited sea rise and floods as the existing daily challenges that people of his region had to gamble with. “Anything above 2*C is not agreeing at all and we will hold our leaders accountable”. Barry believed. Barry took the liberty to call on governments in the world to create enabling structures for the youths to engage in climate change discussions.

Cooperation Jackson a local coalition for the people of the Africa decent form the USA wondered why the negotiators were putting trade and politics first in the heart of the negotiation process. Explaining how the USA was selfishly trying to control the way people were living on earth, Cooperation Jackson said many cities in the US will be underwater in 2020 if real measures were not taken to address global warming. “1.5*C is relevant even for the US people” Jackson remarked. While calling on members of the global civil society movements to look beyond this particular Cop and for what the future holds , He concluded that the US government didn’t have humanity at heart if it resisted to append a 1.5*Csettlement on Paris. “We have to speak out for this is an issue of social injustice “. Jackson added.

Speaking from an African civil society perspective, SamsonSamuel Ogallah andShaddadMuawia of Pan African Climate Justice Alliance PACJA said if the temperature rise exceeded 1.5*C more people in Africa would be left behind in the execution of the SDG’s Sustainable Development Goal’s, “A setback for the development and progress of Africa and more and more people in the troubles of climate change impacts would face moredaring challenges as a result of temperature rise”Ogallah Said. Adding that climate justice meant that the vulnerable in the world received compensations Shaddad expressed disappointments that the US and other industrialized countries were playing to the gallery. “There is need to have a human rights council and reporter who will formulate legal instruments on which states must act”.Shaddad demanded.

Accepting that Justice means human rights Jan Lonn, the secretary general of the International Youth and Students Movement for the United Nations requested that climate change had to be approached from a human rights perspective. “Article II and the preamble of the Draft carry issues of human rights and must be considered”. He said. Asking for the legalization of a 1.5*C agreement to be declared for the survival of mother earth, JanLonn noted that enacting a 2*C pact was not agreeing at all on Paris. “Our message is clear- signing a 1.5*C treaty is respecting our human rights and justice for all.” Jan ended.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Accelerate Negotiations on the New Climate Deal. African CSO’s tell cop21.

Aaron kaahYancho (PAMACC TEAM PARIS)

Paris Climate Terror could Endure for Generations

Paris witnessed both explicit terrorism by religious extremists on November 13 and a month later, implicit terrorism by carbon addicts negotiating a world treaty that guarantees catastrophic climate change. The first incident left more than 130 people dead in just one evening’s mayhem; the second lasted a fortnight but over the next century can be expected to kill hundreds of millions, especially in Africa.
But because the latest version of the annual United Nations climate talks has three kinds of spin-doctors, the extent of damage may not be well understood. The 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) generated reactions ranging from smug denialism to righteous fury. The first reaction is ‘from above’ (the Establishment) and is self-satisfied; the second is from the middle (‘Climate Action’) and is semi-satisfied; the third, from below (‘Climate Justice’), is justifiably outraged.
Guzzling French champagne last Saturday, the Establishment quickly proclaimed, in essence, “The Paris climate glass is nearly full – so why not get drunk on planet-saving rhetoric?” The New York Times reported with a straight face, “President Obama said the historic agreement is a tribute to American climate change leadership” (and in a criminally-negligent way, this is not untrue).
Since 2009, US State Department chief negotiator Todd Stern successfully drove the negotiations away from four essential principles: ensuring emissions-cut commitments would be sufficient to halt runaway climate change; making the cuts legally binding with accountability mechanisms; distributing the burden of cuts fairly based on responsibility for causing the crisis; and making financial transfers to repair weather-related loss and damage following directly from that historic liability. Washington elites always prefer ‘market mechanisms’ like carbon trading instead of paying their climate debt even though the US national carbon market fatally crashed in 2010.
In part because the Durban COP17 in 2011 provided lubrication and – with South Africa’s blessing – empowered Stern to wreck the idea of Common But Differentiated Responsibility while giving “a Viagra shot to flailing carbon markets” (as a male Bank of America official cheerfully celebrated), Paris witnessed the demise of these essential principles. And again, “South Africa played a key role negotiating on behalf of the developing countries of the world,” according to Pretoria’s environment minister Edna Molewa, who proclaimed from Paris “an ambitious, fair and effective legally-binding outcome.”
Arrogant fibbery. The collective Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) – i.e. voluntary cuts – will put the temperature rise at above 3 degrees. From coal-based South Africa, the word ambitious loses meaning given Molewa’s weak INDCs – ranked by ClimateActionTracker as amongst the world’s most “inadequate” – and given that South Africa hosts the world’s two largest coal-fired power stations now under construction, with no objection by Molewa. She regularly approves increased (highly-subsidized) coal burning and exports, vast fracking, offshore-oil drilling, exemptions from pollution regulation, emissions-intensive corporate farming and fast-worsening suburban sprawl.

A second narrative comes from large NGOs that mobilized over the past six months to provide mild-mannered pressure points on negotiators. Their line is, essentially, “The Paris glass is partly full – so sip up and enjoy!”

This line derives not merely from the predictable back-slapping associated with petit-bourgeois vanity, gazing upwards to power for validation, such as one finds at the Worldwide Fund for Nature and Climate Action Network, what with their corporate sponsorships. All of us reading this are often tempted in this direction, aren’t we, because such unnatural twisting of the neck is a permanent occupational hazard in this line of work.

And such opportunism was to be expected from Paris, especially after Avaaz and Greenpeace endorsed G7 leadership posturing in June, when at their meeting in Germany the Establishment made a meaningless commitment to a decarbonized economy – in the year 2100, at least fifty years too late.

Perhaps worse than their upward gaze, though, the lead NGOs suffered a hyper-reaction to the 2009 Copenhagen Syndrome. Having hyped the COP15 Establishment negotiators as “Seal the Deal!” planet-saviours, NGOs mourned the devastating Copenhagen Accord signed in secret by leaders from Washington, Brasilia, Beijing, New Delhi and Pretoria. This was soon followed by a collapse of climate consciousness and mobilization. Such alienation is often attributed to activist heart-break: a roller-coaster of raised NGO expectations and plummeting Establishment performance.

Possessing only an incremental theory of social change, NGOs toasting the Paris deal now feel the need to confirm that they did as best they could, and that they have grounds to continue along the same lines in future. To be sure, insider-oriented persuasion tactics pursued by the 42-million member clicktivist group Avaaz are certainly impressive in their breadth and scope. Yet for Avaaz, “most importantly, [the Paris deal] sends a clear message to investors everywhere: sinking money into fossil fuels is a dead bet. Renewables are the profit centre. Technology to bring us to 100% clean energy is the money-maker of the future.”
Once again, Avaaz validates the COP process, the Establishment’s negotiators and the overall incentive structure of capitalism that are the proximate causes of the crisis.
The third narrative is actually the most realistic: “The Paris glass is full of toxic fairy dust – don’t dare even sniff!” The traditional Climate Justice (CJ) stance is to delegitimize the Establishment and return the focus of activism to grassroots sites of struggle, in future radically changing the balance of forces locally, nationally and then globally. But until that change in power is achieved, the UNFCCC COPs are just Conferences of Polluters.
The landless movement Via Campesina was clearest: “There is nothing binding for states, national contributions lead us towards a global warming of over 3°C and multinationals are the main beneficiaries. It was essentially a media circus.”
Asad Rehman coordinates climate advocacy at the world’s leading North-South CJ organization, Friends of the Earth International: “The reviews [of whether INDCs are adhered to and then need strengthening] are too weak and too late. The political number mentioned for finance has no bearing on the scale of need. It’s empty. The iceberg has struck, the ship is going down and the band is still playing to warm applause.”
And not forgetting the voice of climate science, putting it most bluntly, James Hansen called Paris, simply, “bullshit.”
Where does that leave us? If the glass-half-full NGOs get serious – and I hope to be pleasantly surprised in 2016 – then the only way forward is for them to apply their substantial i
Close to my own home, the weeks before COP21 witnessed potential victories in two major struggles: opposition to corporate coal mining – led mainly by women peasants, campaigners and lawyers – in rural Zululand, bordering the historic iMfolozi wilderness reserve (where the world’s largest white rhino population is threatened by poachers); and South Durban residents fighting the massive expansion of Africa’s largest port-petrochemical complex. In both attacks, the climate-defence weapon was part of the activists’ arsenal.
But it is only when these campaigns have conclusively done the work COP negotiators and NGO cheerleaders just shirked – leaving fossil fuels in the ground and pointing the way to a just, post-carbon society – that we can raise our glasses and toast humanity, with integrity. Until then, pimps for the Paris Conference of Polluters should be told to sober up and halt what will soon be understood as their fatal attack on Mother Earth.

nfluence on behalf of solidarity with those CJ activists making a real difference, at the base.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)