Day: October 27, 2021

The Global Center on Adaptation says climate change will push 120 million people into extreme poverty by 2030, and a third of them will be Africans if nothing is done to mitigate its effects. The findings are in the center’s report on Africa, released Tuesday.

Speaking in Nairobi at the release of a report looking at present-day and future climate change risks in Africa, the head of the Global Center on Adaptation, Patrick Verkooijen, says the climate crisis may create millions of poor people on the continent.

“In fact, worldwide climate change, if unchecked, will push 122 million new people into extreme poverty by 2030, of these in sub-Saharan Africa alone, 43 million new poor people pushed into poverty by climate change, and even if development is rapid and inclusive up to 12 million people in Africa could be pushed into poverty in this time due to climate change alone,” said Verkooijen.

The Netherlands-based organization that works on climate adaptation solutions around the globe said Africa’s failure to adapt to the recurrent climate shocks will also increase the cost of borrowing, reducing investment opportunities for its people.

According to the Africa Development Bank (AFDB), the continent needs $7- $15 billion a year to create adaptation programs.

Akinwumi Adesina, the Africa Development Bank president, says it is making $25 billion available to scale up climate change adaptation actions and drive investment in green growth.

“We will scale up access to climate-smart digital technologies and associated data-driven agricultural and financial services to at least 30 million farmers in Africa,” said Adesina. “Infrastructure, we will ensure that the climate risk and resilience are integrated into at least 50 percent of the total value of new infrastructure investment in Africa across all infrastructure sectors.”

The AFDB said it will invest $8 billion to create sustainable jobs for Africa’s youth and innovative financial initiatives that help increase financial flows for adaptation and resilience.

Kenya’s president, Uhuru Kenyatta, addressing the gathering online, said his government is ready to handle the adverse effect of climate change.

“To implement our nationally determined contributions, we plan to invest approximately $8 billion over the next ten years,” said Kenyatta. “This is just 10 percent of the total investment needed of the NDC’s and we, therefore, need support from our international partners.”

Verkooijen says, apart from the effort to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, investing in communication tools, water and health can help Africa.

“A dollar invested in weather and climate information services gives between $4 and $25 in benefits,” said Verkooijen. “A dollar invested in resilient water and sanitation not only saves lives it creates between $2 and $12 in benefits. African countries that invest a dollar in climate-smart crops can see between $2 and $14 in benefits. Adaptation makes economic sense.”

High-level officials and heads of state from around the world are scheduled to meet in Glasgow, Scotland on Sunday for the COP26 climate summit, and to accelerate action toward the goals of the 2019 Paris Agreement meant to limit global warming.

Source: Voice of America

Here’s a look at what U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other top diplomats have been doing this week:

Sudan

The United States called on Sudanese military forces to release all civilian leaders in detention, amid growing international condemnation of the military takeover. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken underscored the U.S. support for a civilian-led transition to democracy while speaking to Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok after his release from military custody.

Sudanese Security Forces Arrest 3 Leading Pro-Democracy Activists

Iran

The United States said it is prepared to return to Vienna for talks aimed at restoring a 2015 Iran nuclear deal that has been stalled for months, adding it is possible to “quickly reach and implement an understanding on return to mutual full compliance with the JCPOA.” Iran said Wednesday it would resume talks with world powers about its nuclear development program by the end of November.

Iran Agrees to Resume Nuclear Talks

First ‘X-gender’ passport

The U.S. State Department announced Wednesday it has issued the first U.S. passport with an X-gender marker for nonbinary, intersex and gender-nonconforming people. The move follows a commitment to ensure “the fair treatment of LGBTQI+ U.S. citizens, regardless of their gender or sex.”

US State Department Issues First ‘X-Gender’ Passport

Digital security

The State Department is creating a new Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy to focus on tackling cybersecurity challenges at a time of growing threats from opponents. There will also be a new special envoy for critical and emerging technology, who will lead the technology diplomacy agenda with U.S. allies.

US State Department Creates Bureau to Tackle Digital Threats

Taiwan

The United States encouraged all United Nations member states to join the U.S. in supporting Taiwan’s “robust, meaningful participation throughout the U.N. system” and in the international community, consistent with Washington’s “One China” policy. Calling Taiwan “a democratic success story,” Blinken said Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the U.N. system is “not a political issue, but a pragmatic one.” China said Taiwan has no right to join the United Nations.

US Calls for Renewed Taiwan Participation at UN

On the 50th anniversary of the adoption of U.N. Resolution 2758, a senior U.S. official said the international community benefits from “Taiwan’s expertise to address some of today’s most difficult global challenges,” while explaining how China is misusing U.N. Resolution 2758 to block Taiwan from participating in the U.N. system.

Turkey

U.S. officials said the Biden administration seeks cooperation with Turkey, a NATO ally, on common priorities but will not shy away from addressing disagreements while promoting the rule of law and respect of human rights globally. The remarks came after Turkey declared 10 ambassadors from Western countries “persona non grata” for calling for the release of Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala.

Turkey to Banish 10 Western Ambassadors, Erdogan Says

Source: Voice of America

Once commonplace, abuses by state security forces against civilians in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have dropped sharply in the previous year, according to rights groups.

Boubacar, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, said last year unidentified gunmen came to his home at night, shot and wounded his wife and son, then killed his brother.

The next day, on doctors’ orders, he traveled to Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou, for medical treatment to save his son’s injured hand from amputation.

While he was away, he said, Burkinabe security forces kidnapped two of his brothers. Neighbors, he said, identified the forces. Since then, the family has had no word and doesn’t know if the two are alive or dead.

Abuses by security forces in the Sahel conflict, where Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger battle terror groups linked to Islamic State and al-Qaida, were once common.

Last year, the number of civilian fatalities caused by security forces was approaching those caused by terror groups.

Data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, ACLED, shows the number of civilian fatalities caused by security forces has fallen dramatically in the last year to Oct. 1, compared with the previous year.

They have dropped by 77% in Burkina Faso, 74% in Mali, and 65% in Niger.

Rights groups say they have also observed the change and suggest why it might have occurred.

“We believe that there’s a combination of factors,” said Corrine Dufka, West Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “First has been reporting by human rights groups, by journalists, as well as pressure from the international community.”

Analysts say there could be other factors at play, including the outsourcing of military activities to government-backed militias, among other things.

“Over this period, the security situation in the Sahel has continued to get worse,” said the European Council on Foreign Relations’s Andrew Lebovich. “And so, I think one other possible explanation is that regional security forces are doing somewhat less patrolling and are doing somewhat fewer operations where they’re actually interacting with populations in rural areas, especially.”

The Burkinabe army says accusations of abuse by security forces have not been proven. In a statement to VOA, it said respect for human rights is a major concern for the national armed forces and is part of the basic education for soldiers.

But the consequences of the atrocities are not going away.

“The bad news is there have not been investigations, much less, justice and accountability,” said Human Rights Watch’s Dufka.

Boubacar said trying to seek justice from the same authorities he believes committed crimes would be pointless.

He said he can’t see how there would be a positive outcome, even if he went to court, so he decided to let matters lie.

But he still wants to know what happened to his brothers.

Source: Voice of America