Welcome Remarks by H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma
Chairperson of the African Union Commission

at Africa Day Side Events during the Nineteenth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Ninth Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to its Kyoto Protocol (COP 19 / CMP 9)

Side Event Room Wroclaw, National Stadium, Warsaw, Poland

19 November 2013

Excellences, Ministers

Representatives of sister insitutions: UNECA, AfDB and NPCA
Representatives of RECs

Members of the Diplomatic Corp
Distinguished Delegates
Ladies and Gentlemen,

First and foremost, I would like to convey the warm greetings of H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma for the Africa Day and to welcome you all to the Africa Day Side Events taking place here in this beautiful city of Warsaw, Poland during the Nineteenth Session of the Conference to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Ninth Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to its Kyoto Protocol (COP 19/CMP9).
Excellences,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me seize this unique opportunity to recall that in 2003 in Maputo, Mozambique, the African leaders adopted the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) for the Development of Agriculture on the African continent. Excellences, to celebrate the first decade of CAADP, the 19th Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government held in July in 2012 made a Declaration that the Year 2014 becomes the Year of Agriculture and Food Security. The theme of the Africa Day side event today, Climate Change and Agriculture in development in Africa during the 19th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 9th Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to it Kyoto (COP 19/CMP9) taking place today the 19th Day of November 2013 here in Warsaw, Poland is, therefore, very unique, timely and strategic. Excellences permit me to further recall that the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP 17) held in 2011 in Durban, South Africa also turned the global attention to the issue of Agriculture in the current Climate Change negotiations. This is also very important and strategic because all events have led to increased awareness on the impacts of climate change in Africa and in particular in the context of adaptation in Africa with special emphasis on Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Security to end hunger on the African continent.

Excellences, I am happy to inform you that the African Union Commission is preparing for 2014 by organizing a series of events including today’s event to mobilize support for the African Agricultural Agenda, in the quest for enhancing development in the face of climate change and other mega-trends such as rising population and increasing urbanisation.

Excellences, convening the Africa Day side events today, is further in implementation of another landmark African Union Decision taken by the 20th Ordinary Session held in January 2013 in Addis Ababa, on the Coordination Mechanism of the Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC) and Africa’s preparation for COP 19, which requested the Commission, in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and other partners to step up their efforts and support towards an effective Africa’s preparation for the COP19 so that Africa’s interests are advanced and safeguarded.

Excellences,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

The celebration of the Africa Day at COP 19 is further unique because in May this year, Africa celebrated 50 years since the founding of the Organization of the African Unity (OAU), and 10 years since the birth of the African Union (AU) under the theme “Pan Africanism and the African Renaissance”. Excellences, Pan Africanism represents the movement to unite Africa and the people of African Descent the world over, working together in solidarity, to fight against injustice including climate justice. The two dimensions of the theme are centrally connected to the idea that Africa is speaking with a unified strong voice in the global climate change negotiations under the able leadership and guidance of a unified structure of the Committee of the African Heads of States and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC) and the African Ministerial Conference of Environment (AMCEN) ably serviced by the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN). We are proud and confident of this.

Excellences, the latest Scientific Assessment Report of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released last month indicated that the effect of climate change is due to human influence and would lead to extreme weather temperature and patterns in Africa thereby affecting our Agricultural sector with the dire need to support development of National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPAs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) in Agriculture.

Excellences, I would, therefore, stress that the need for solutions to address African agriculture in the face of adverse impacts of climate change cannot be effective unless they are supported by appropriate means of implementation such as finance and technology transfer and development. In this regard, Africa demands that adequate finance and technology is essential for the development of the African Agricultural Agenda. At the same time, we continue to call for all polluters to commit to ambitious green house gas emissions which otherwise would continue to undermine or development trajectory.

I thank you all for your kind attention, and wish you all Happy Africa Day Celebrations!