Sweden and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) have signed an $8.5 million agreement to support UNECA’s African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC).
The donation is in support of ECA’s African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC), established in the framework of the Climate Information for Development in Africa (ClimDev-Africa Programme).
ECA’s Executive Secretary and UN Under Secretary- General, Abdoulie Janneh, acknowledged Sweden as a leader on issues pertaining to coping with the impacts of climate change.
He said because climate change would negatively impact on Africa in many ways, the continent was determined to present a united voice in Copenhagen during the 15th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP-15).
“Africa is clear on what it wants and we are confident on the outcome. The Swedish gesture towards ACPC would help the center fulfill its various mandates on behalf of African countries,” said Janneh
Swedish Ambassador to Ethiopia, Mr. Jens Odlander, said the Government of Sweden was interested in the “entrepreneurial aspects of climate change” and that it considers ACPC as having a crucial role to play in this regard.
He said Sweden was pleased that Africa’s three regional institutions were working together on climate change and expressed the hope that ClimDev-Africa and ACPC would help alleviate the negative effects of climate change for millions of children, women and men in Africa.
ClimDev-Africa is a joint initiative of the African Union Commission (AUC), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) with clear mandates of African Heads of State and Government to develop continent-wide systems for monitoring, predicting and responding to climate events.
Although the continent contributes only 3.8% of total greenhouse gas emissions, Africa’s countries are among the most vulnerable to climate change impacts.
According to UNECA, with majority of poor countries and communities, Africa will suffer earliest and hardest because of weaker resilience and greater reliance on climate-sensitive sectors like agriculture.
Source African Press Agency
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