CCDA-V innovates, creates solution spaces to sharpen Africa’s proposals for COP 21

Credit: S.Kilungu (CCAFS)

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, 27 October 2015 (ClimDev-Africa) – The technical committee for the organization of tomorrow’s 5th Annual Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA-V) has touted the creation of solution spaces at the conference as a key innovation in yearly scientific and policy event.

Presenting the draft agenda to the organizing committee, James Murombedzi, Senior Governance Expert at ACPC, underscored the significance of the innovation, saying reports from solution forums at CCDA 5 would help to sharpen Africa’s proposals for each negotiation stream during COP 21 in Paris, come December this year.

The idea of creating solution forums, he recalled, was born out of a desire by ClimDev-Africa to move beyond bemoaning the negative impacts of climate change to retail success stories that demonstrate how local innovations and community-generated initiatives can illustrate that climate change is not always a calamity; and that it often holds a host of opportunities for every affected community.

The approach was first tested during the maiden session of a series of discussions that were held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania from 3-5 September, under the theme, 'Democratizing Global Climate Change Governance and Building an African Consensus toward COP 21 and beyond”.

The forum was called Africa Climate Talks (ACT!), and hosted by the University of Dar es Salaam and the Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) Africa Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) as part of the ACPC’s ongoing efforts to dynamize Africa’s preparations for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (COP21).

Nearly all the 60 panel discussions of CCDA 5 which kick offs on 28 October 2015 in the Zimbabwean tourist resort city, Victoria Falls under the theme: “Africa, Climate Change and Sustainable development: What is at stake at Paris and beyond?” are planned to be followed by a solution forum.

Issued by ClimDev-Africa News Service