President Ramaphosa says Africa must speak with one voice in support of the Paris Agreement and the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change.
Ramaphosa says this in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on Saturday morning where he accepted Chairmanship of the African Union (AU) Committee on Climate Change from outgoing Chair, Gabon ahead of this weekend’s AU Summit.
He says Africans must communicate the message that they need the support of developed countries in adapting to climate change.
“The trend of international financiers to abruptly disinvest from fossil fuels poses a particular threat to Africa because of the unintended threat to jobs and our economies as well as energy and food security. If it is to be just and sustainable, the transition needs to be carried in a phased and planned manner but it must also be tailored to national circumstances,” says Ramaphosa.
Earlier this week, Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu said that South Africa will be highlighting the importance of infrastructure development on the continent at the summit.
He added that Ramaphosa will be ramping up the need for infrastructure as the lifeblood to continental development and integration.
Mthembu also said that Ramaphosa will be pushing for South Africa to host a High-Level Forum on Infrastructure in 2020 in which the proposals for funding across the continent may be tabled.
The 33rd #AUSummit is ongoing at the AU headquarters in #AddisAbaba under the theme #SilencingTheGuns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development. The Assembly meeting of Heads of State and Government will take place from 9-10 February 2020 #Agenda2063
— African Union (@_AfricanUnion) February 8, 2020
In 2020 the @_AfricanUnion will focus on conflict prevention and building capacities of Member States, RECs/RMs to rapidly transit from early warning to early action and on robustly addressing #IllicitFinancialFows and the proliferation of arms. 33rd#AUSummit #SilencingTheGuns
— African Union (@_AfricanUnion) February 7, 2020
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