Ghana will host Africa Climate Week 2019, from 18–22 March in Accra, Ghana under the regional programmes under the UN Climate Change. It is meant to showcase a dynamic schedule of activities that will demonstrate enhanced ambition across the continent. It is to hosted by the Government of Ghana, in the wake of the COP24 international climate negotiations, with a theme “Climate Action in Africa: A Race We Can Win”.
According to the organizers, it represents the first major climate-orientated event in 2019 to promote Africa Country Programme’s ‘guidelines’ in implementing the Paris Agreement.
The timely completion and the ramping-up of national ambition relating to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, adapting to the inevitable impacts of climate change and support for developing countries to take climate action – will be critical to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 to ultimately keep the global average temperature rise to as close as possible to 1.5°C.
The world has until 2020 for countries to revise their national climate action plans (also known as Nationally Determined Contributions, or “NDCs” and the United Nations is convening a Summit in New York this September to spur global leaders to pledge stronger commitments to reduce emissions and strengthen resilience.
This makes the Regional Climate Weeks like the one in Ghana significant in the lead-up to September New York Summit. The focus of its thematic sessions on 21-22 March are Energy Transition, Nature-Based Solutions, and Cities and Local Action. The other three areas of the New York Summit will be Climate Action and Carbon pricing; Reducing Emissions from Industry and Building Resilience.
The high-level segment, will take place on Wednesday, 20 March, with Ministers and senior leaders – including UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa – in participation, which will focus on areas such as: visions for Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) enhancement and implementation; carbon pricing and markets, as well as the operationalization of the ambition cycle in the Africa region.
Governments, private sector and other non-Party stakeholders will gather in Accra 18-19 March – to promote the critical work under the three transformational areas via the three levers of policy, technology and finance.
The Africa Climate Week is the first of three annual regional climate events this year – the latter two being the Latin America & Caribbean Climate Week and the Asia Pacific Climate Week. Its core partners include the World Bank Group, African Development Bank, West African Development Bank, CTCN, UNEP, UNEP DTU Partnership, UNDP, IETA, Marrakech Partnership and UN Climate Change.
