11 October 2018: Focusing on the nexus between the SDGs, African Union’s Agenda 2063 and nationally determined contributions (NDCs), the seventh Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA-VII) conference sought to advance an integrated approach to the sustainable management of Africa’s environmental resources.

The conference convened under the theme, ‘Policies and Actions for Effective Implementation of the Paris Agreement for Resilient Economies in Africa,’ from 10-12 October 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya. It aimed to: facilitate science-practice-policy dialogue to address available options for NDC implementation in Africa; examine missing links for enhanced uptake and use of climate information services (CIS) in development planning and policies; and clarify options for financing climate actions, including modalities for unlocking available and new climate finance, such as leveraging market mechanisms for climate action.

On the NDC-SDG-Agenda 2063 nexus, participants emphasized that interconnections between SDGs 6 (clean water and sanitation), 2 (zero hunger) and 7 (affordable and clean energy) and NDCs are critical for managing the continent’s environmental resources in an integrated manner.

African leaders should demand an amendment to the Paris Agreement spelling out what Africa requires to “survive the onslaught of climate change.”

During the meeting, panelists highlighted the need for, inter alia: political will to achieve sustainable and equitable development in Africa; implementation of NDCs to keep the global average temperature rise to below 1.5°C above preindustrial levels to avoid an exacerbation of food insecurity; changing the way Africa produces and consumes food to ensure a more sustainable agricultural system; and focusing on building resilience, not just adapting to climate change. They further urged:

• African countries to align development agendas with their national development plans and budgeting processes;
• African leaders and negotiators to demand, at the Katowice Climate Change Conference in December, an “amendment” to the Paris Agreement on climate change that explicitly spells out what Africa requires to “survive the onslaught of climate change”; and
• governments to invest in science and scientists for developing climate-resilient pathways to combat climate change.

The Conference was organized by the African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC). It convenes annually under the auspices of the Climate for Development in Africa (ClimDev-Africa) Programme, a consortium of African development institutions, including the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Development Bank (AfDB). [UNECA News Story] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on African Position for COP 24] [CCDA-7 Website]