30 June 2017: Participants to the ninth African Carbon Forum highlighted the need to build political momentum for implementing the Paris Agreement on climate change as an opportunity to support a transformational shift towards low-carbon economic development and greater resilience to climate change.

Attended by more than 600 experts, policy makers and ministers from African countries, the Forum served as platform to take stock of climate action and financing needs across the continent. Participants discussed, among other issues: practical examples of policies, initiatives and actions; barriers and enabling measures for engaging climate action in key sectors; financial instruments and regulatory frameworks; and opportunities to advance implementation of climate action.

Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), stated that swift action on implementing the Paris Agreement is essential because: climate change is at the heart of sustainable development and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); integrated action on climate change and sustainable development opens “vast potential for social and economic gains,” which could unlock economic opportunities worth US$12 trillion; and alignment across international sustainable development agendas can generate the necessary momentum for action.

Participants also discussed the role of non-state actors, stressing the need to integrate cities in climate action and encourage participation by the private sector. A high-level ministerial segment considered options for mobilizing financial resources to combat adverse effects of climate change across the continent.

The ninth Africa Carbon Forum took place from 28-30 June 2017 in Cotonou, Benin. First convened in 2006, the Africa Carbon Forum provides a platform for climate action in Africa, bringing together key public and private sector stakeholders and other non-party actors from Africa and beyond. The Forum is organized under the umbrella of the Nairobi Framework Partnership and serves as regional climate action event supporting non-government stakeholder action in the run up to the yearly UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP). [UNFCCC Press Release, 30 June 2017][UNFCCC Press Release, 22 June 2017] [Speech by UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa][Africa Carbon Forum Website]