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African Action summit on climate change ends in Marrakech

By GNA
Climate African Action summit on climate change ends in Marrakech
NOV 18, 2016 LISTEN

By Josephine Naaeke, GNA, Marrakech, Morocco, Courtesy UNFCCC

Marrakech (Morocco), Nov. 17, GNA - The first Africa Action Summit to find ways to agree on a common approach to fighting climate change as well as actionable measures for sustainable development has ended in Marrakech, Morocco.

The summit was attended by Heads of State, Ban Ki moon, UN Secretary General, President of the African Development Bank upon the invitation of the Royal King Mohammed VI, on the sidelines of the 22nd session of the conference of Parties.

King Mohammed said: 'Your presence …is a testament to your commitment to an African continent that is looking to the future and shaping its own destiny.

'Africa is paying a heavy price in the climate equation, it is undoubtedly, the continent that is suffering the most,' he said.

He said rising temperatures, shifting seasons and successive droughts were depleting the biodiversity of the continent, destroying ecosystems and jeopardising Africa's progress, security and stability.

King Mohammed observed that yet the continent was responsible for only four per cent of greenhouse gas emissions.

He said climate change on a global scale was significantly hampering Africa's development and posing a serious threat to the basic rights of tens of millions of Africans.

As a result, all types of vulnerabilities are concentrated in the continent.

King Mohammed said there were already 10 million climate refugees in Africa and by 2020, nearly 60 million people would be displaced because of water scarcity if no measures were taken in this regard.

The immense freshwater reservoir that Lake Chad used to be has already lost 94 per cent of its surface area and is facing the risk of drying up once and for all, four million hectares of forest - that is to say, twice the global average - are lost each year, he added.

African agriculture - which consists predominantly of subsistence farming - employs 60 per cent of the African workforce; yet our crops suffer from severe disruptions, and our food security is seriously jeopardized.

The King told member states that agricultural output in Africa could therefore drop by 20 per cent by 2050, at a time 'when our population will have doubled and the entire sections of the coastline and almost a third of coastal infrastructure would be submerged.

Water-borne diseases, which kill thousands of people each year, would be eradicated if wastewater treatment plants are created.

The degradation of land and of natural resources could continue to be the main driver of most transnational conflicts in Africa.

The Paris Climate Agreement, which was adapted to the satisfaction of all, enshrines the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.

It is important that our continent speak with one voice, demand climate justice as well as the mobilisation of the necessary resources and submit concerted proposals in connection with the fight against climate change.

Mr moon said the Paris Agreement was not a panacea to ending climate change problems but called all African countries to join forces saying, 'We still face real and daunting future'.

He said out of 50 countries hit by climate change, 36 were in Africa.

Mr moon said there were a lot of climate solutions across Africa such as planting of trees, re-forestation, and conservation.

GNA

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