The Africa Climate Week 2021 (ACW 2021) Virtual Thematic Sessions took place from 26-29 September 2021 with calls to climate action from leading voices from across the African continent. ACW 2021 was hosted by the Government of Uganda, with support from the UN and other multilateral agencies and marks an important step on the road to COP26.

On the margins of the Africa Climate Week, the African Union Commission in collaboration with UN-FAO Africa Regional Office, organized a thematic session under the theme “Partnerships in adaptation and resilience in the agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU) sectors”. The objective was to create a space where regional and national actors would share their experiences, challenges and lessons learned on partnerships for the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in Africa.

Speaking at the opening ceremony Mr Harsen Nyambe, Acting Director of the Directorate of Sustainable Environment and Blue Economy said the AUC, UNECA and FAO are collaborating to advance climate change agenda in Africa, especially on the implementation of NDCs across the region.

The Officer-in-Charge of the African Climate Policy Centre at the Economic Commission for Africa, Dr. James Murombedzi, mentioned that the Climate Change for Development Africa initiative (ClimDev), which is a partnerships initiative of ECA, UNEP, AfDB, and AUC contributed to the success of many collaborative projects of the institutions.

Taking the floor Dr. Ade Freeman, Regional Programme Leader at the FAO Regional Office for Africa, highlighted areas of collaboration with the AUC on the Regional Technical Cooperation programme through projects in Mozambique and Gabon for NDC implementation.

During the panel discussion, representatives from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Ms. Thandie Mwape said that the long standing relationship between the Red Cross and Red Crescent with national societies is key in the development and implementation of the African climate change strategy.

Under the gender lens on NDC implementation and partnerships, Ms. Paxina Chileshe-Toe, Regional Climate and Environment Specialist from the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) said “in order to build climate resilient countries it is essential to engage different partners to ensure attention to structures and institutions that impact on gender.”

Other speakers  at the event included Dr. Ahmed Amdehun from IGAD who emphasized the need to mainstream Disaster Risk Management in education and other sectors, and Mr. Maisharou Abdou, Director General, National Agency for GGW, Niger who emphasized the need for strong partnership in the management of degraded agricultural, forestry and pastoral lands.

Lessons learned from the discussion will form the basis of negotiations at the upcoming #COP26 in Glasgow, United Kingdom, November 2021.

About Africa Climate Week

Africa Climate Week is an opportunity to move forward on crucial climate action work at a national and regional level, taking regional priorities into consideration. The central objective of Africa Climate Week is to share ways for governments to implement the Paris Agreement in Africa, making use of all the planning tools and support available under the Paris Agreement. For further information check the event's website: https://unfccc.int/ACW2021 . Further information about AUC participation to #ACW can be found here https://youtu.be/ww3iuDONahQ.

For media enquires please contact:

Molalet Tsedeke, Media Coordinator | Information and Communication Directorate | African Union Commission
Tel: +251 115 517 700 | E-mail: molalett@africa-union.org | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Information and Communication Directorate, African Union Commission I E-mail: DIC@africa-union.org
Web: au.int | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Follow Us: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube