1. Introduction
The end of inception phase workshop was convened to bring together the members of the Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Group (MSAG) to review the outcomes of the inception phase, with a view to identifying areas of synergies with their institutions’ mandates. Due to ongoing limitations to in-person gatherings, the event was conducted online on the 6th August 2020, with participation of a majority of the members of the MSAG.
2. Objectives
The overall objectives of the final workshop were to review the project plan, logframe and results-based budget. Following its review, revisions will be made to the work plan and budget, as well as the logical framework. The final workshop discussed the inception phase report which contains the detailed review of the inception activities and an outline of the plans for the project phase.
The specific objectives of the webinar were:
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Revise project document including an updated results framework, work-plan and budget;
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Produce a detailed project implementation modality, including coordination and monitoring mechanisms;
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Detailed gender analysis and gender-focused activities integrated in work-plan and budget;
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Detailed private sector engagement strategies outline and integrated into the work-plan and budget;
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Strategies for communication and policy outreach detailed and integrated into work plan and budget;
3. Opening ceremony
As moderator of the webinar, James Murombedzi welcomed the members and invited Mr. Jean-Paul Adam, the Director of the Technology, Climate Change and Natural Resources Management Division to open the webinar.
In his opening statement, Mr. Adam, expressed great pleasure and honor to be present on the occasion of the official opening of the end of inception phase webinar on “Delivering Climate Resilient Development Policies in Africa”. In his speech, Mr. Adam decried the continuing negative impacts of climate change, which he noted will cause more fatalities in Africa than all the infectious diseases put together, within the next 10 years.
He underscored the objectives of the project which include improving the member states ambition in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). He further noted that Africa bears little responsibility for global warming, with a share of only 4% of CO2 emissions while its population is 17% of the world total.
He reminded members that the Sweden project entails capacity building of member states, civil society and the private sector, and has conducted workshops to enhance policies aimed at building resilience to the frequent and devastating adverse climate events.
In order to engender coherence in the interventions undertaken in Africa to combat climate change, the Director noted that ACPC is currently developing a regional climate change strategy. Issues of gender are also being prioritized in the implementation of the project activities, giving an example of the COVID pandemic environment where there is an imbalance with 60% men working in the informal sector while for women its 75%. Policies promoted to countries to build resilience must therefore take cognizance of this reality and therefore address the disparity.
The project further aims to support private sectors involvement in climate information services, which can feed into the African Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to create a stream of revenue for Africa based institutions.
There are ongoing governance initiatives and opportunities globally that the ACPC work links to, such as the European Green Deal, which has synergies with the Sweden project. The project is further looking into nature based solutions, with Ethiopia serving as an example, through the implementation of a “Green Legacy” project aiming at improving water retention infrastructure around dams to build community resilience. He averred that climate change actions should be synonymous with development and should improve people’s lives, create jobs and enable development, as the continent seeks to build back better after COVID-19.
Lastly, he noted, actions in supporting member states should be driven by the imperatives of green and sustainable growth, including in the energy used to power economies.
Mr. Adam thanked partners for participating and contributing their ideas and time to strengthen the implementation of the Sweden project.
Presentations
Delivering Climate Resilient Development Policies in Africa (2019 - 2023) - Linus Mofor
Lessons learnt - Frank Rutabingwa