THEME: Green Growth and Climate Finance Solutions for Africa and the World
The Climate for Development in Africa (ClimDev-Africa) is a joint initiative of the African Union Commission, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, and the African Development Bank, that is conferred the mandate from the African Union Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.134 (VIII) of the 8th Ordinary Session in 2007, to support climate interventions in African countries. The initiative hosts the annual conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA).
The CCDA is traditionally convened each year, in partnership with the Government of any African Union Member State that hosts the Conference, ahead of the UNFCCC Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC (COP). The annual conference brings together different African stakeholder groups on climate change to discuss key climate change and development challenges facing the continent as well as identify opportunities and solutions. The conference promotes evidence-based and analytically grounded contributions that feed into the African common position meetings in the international discourse on climate change.
This year, the ClimDev-Africa partners, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change & Forestry of the Government of Kenya and with the support of the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), propose to convene the eleventh CCDA (CCDA-XI) conference on September 1 – 3, 2023 at Safari Park Hotel & Casino, Nairobi, as the technical segment of the Africa Climate Summit (ACS) under the ACS overarching theme; “African Solidarity for Global Climate Action”. The technical segment will feature expert group discussions to address the subthemes of the ACS.
CCDA-XI will be structured as a high-level policy, climate change, and development experts and stakeholders pre-summit event that will develop outcome statements and contribute to the recommendations for the ACS declarations on the subthemes.
Objective
The overall objective of CCDA–XI is to produce detailed analytical data-driven and evidence-based recommendations on the various subthemes of the ACS. Reports from the conference will contribute to the outcome statements for African Heads of State, towards and beyond the UNFCCC COP28 to be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Organization and Structure of CCDA-XI
As the technical segment of the ACS, CCDA–XI will be organized around the themes of the Summit. Experts drawn from diverse backgrounds in Africa’s socio-economic and political spheres will produce detailed papers on the status of each of the subthemes. The papers will inform Expert Group Meetings which will be convened in Nairobi, and whose main purpose will be to review the technical papers, validate the content, and produce outcome statements for the Summit. The first day of the CCDA will consist of technical meetings of these expert groups, while the second day will be a High-Level segment for policy and decision-makers to review and finalize statements for the Summit.
Conference subthemes
Energy transition/renewable energy.
Extractive industries, mining, critical minerals, and manufacturing powering the just transition to low-carbon, climate-resilient development pathways.
Agriculture, Nature-Based Solutions, and the Blue Economy.
Resilient infrastructure and urbanization.
Natural capital and green finance.
Adaptation and resilience to climate risk.
Climate finance and carbon credits.
Some of the notable speakers are:
Stephen Jackson, United Nations Resident Coordinator, Kenya
Kevin Kariuki, Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth, African Development Bank (AfDB)
Stanislas Stephen Mouba, Director General, Directorate for the Environment for the Protection of Nature, Gabon
Hassatou Diop N'Sele, Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the AfDB (AfDB to confirm)
Jean-Paul Adam, United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA)
Andrian Chikowore, International, AFRODAD, Zimbabwe
Fr. Charles Chilufya, Jesuits Economic Justice Network, Zambia among others
Click on the button below to learn more about the guest speakers and their respective topics of discussion.