STATEMENT BY: COMMISSIONER FOR RURAL ECONOMY AND AGRICULTURE ON THE OCCASION OF: CLIMDEV AFRICA PHASE II SIDE EVENT AT UNFCCC COP 22, MARRAKECH, KINDGDOM OF MORROCCO 14 NOVEMBER 2016, AFRICAN PAVILION, MALI ZONE

Honourable Ministers, Distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for honouring our invitation to join us for this session to deliberate on the second phase of the Climate for Development in Africa (ClimDev Africa) programme. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our collaborating partners the African Development Bank and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa for hosting this dialogue session and for the strong partnership and collaboration since the launch of the ClimDev Africa programme. As we know, Africa is known to be one of the most vulnerable continents to climate change and climate variability due to its low adaptive capacity, low level of technological development and a variety of interacting factors. Human conflict over land and water resources, severe droughts, floods and land degradation experienced in the continent have increasingly been attributed to Climate Change. Honourable Ministers, Distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, Africa’s aspirations as enshrined in Agenda 2063, is to pursue a climate-conscious development with the aim of having an ‘environmentally sustainable and Climate resilience economies and communities’ However, to achieve this, African countries would need to have the human capacity and financial resources required to respond to climate change. The year 2015 saw the historic adoption of the Paris Agreement which is now entering into force following the ratification of agreement. We hope that the Paris Agreement will allow parties to cooperate closely and report progress on implementation of domestically determined contributions on fighting climate change. At this Marrakech COP we hope that Africa’s capacity needs finance and technological requirements will receive due attention. Honourable Ministers, Distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, Phase two of the ClimDev-Africa programme Strategic Plan has been designed to Support Africa’s Response to climate change and build a momentum for impactful climate action through the collective efforts of three key African institutions (AUC, ECA, and AfDB) to foster a common and coordinated response to climate change throughout the Continent. This would be achieved through focusing on activities that contribute to climate informed development strategies in Africa. This could be done through investments in activities that support the economic and social development processes of Africa through (1) the elaboration of strategies and governance systems - including legislative, institutional architecture, regulatory and accountability measures - aimed at supporting efforts to keep emissions low while at the same time building the resilience of African economies. (2) Mainstreaming climate change into development planning and strategies by integrating measures to build resilience and reduce risk in the development processes and (3) Ensuring equitable transitions to resilient low emissions growth. Honourable Ministers, Distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, As I conclude, I would like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation to all our partners and relevant stakeholders that provided the financial support to the programme enabling it to be operational. We will count on you to continue to collaborate with us during phase two. I thank you all for your kind attention.