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ECOWAS countries hold talks over Green Climate Fund

By Cornelius Essen, Abuja
19 September 2016   |   2:42 am
As part of efforts to mitigate adverse effects of climate change on the society, experts have urged Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) ...
ECOWAS

ECOWAS

As part of efforts to mitigate adverse effects of climate change on the society, experts have urged Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) countries to take advantage of the Green Climate Fund (GCF).a

The experts met with member State representatives to sensitise member states on practical tools to accelerate the readiness process with regard to the GCF in their respective countries, share experiences, lessons as well as facilitate peer-to-peer learning. GCF was established in 2010 with a mandate to limit greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries.

Accordingly, they agreed that ECOWAS should encourage countries to balance their pipeline of projects to include both adaptation and mitigation projects in order to create a healthier environment for the citizens of West Africa.  

At the end of a three-day regional training workshop in Abuja, the experts also made far-reaching recommendations on sustainable development in the region.

In a ten-paged report, delegates of national and regional institutions as well as experts from the GCF Board recommended among others, that capacity building on climate change should involve other developmental sectors like; agriculture, energy and industry.

They also challenged the ECOWAS Commission to promote and enhance knowledge exchange between the member states through activities such as bilateral country missions and group networking.

The experts further noted that Member States should not wait to carry out the activities outlined and presented at the workshop while deadline, which should be flexible to complete the readiness process, are yet to be established.

They encouraged member states to fast track the signing of immunities and privileges clause, make themselves available for a planned webinar on the immunities and privileges agreement for more understanding of the legal process.

“There is need for developing countries to have more targeted resources addressed through the negotiators providing enough information to the private sector”, they posited.

GCF representative, Mr. Kaloga Oumar Alpha restated the commitment of the institution to the region, stressing that the recommendations put forward would be communicated to the right quarters.
 
On his part, the head of environmental Policies and Regulations Division of the ECOWAS Commission, Bougonou Djeri Alassani, thanked the GCF for its continuous support to the region while the representative of the Nigerian Minister of Environment thanked participants, stressing, the GCF and other finance mechanism are very important in ensuring a healthier environment. He while urged the GCF to come up with better innovative approaches to assist the region.

Participants were drawn from the ministries and agencies of environment of Togo, Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Benin, Gambia, Liberia, Nigeria, Cape Verde as well as representatives of relevant organizations which included GCF, the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), ARAA and Africa Finance Corporation.

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