Remarks of Particular Presidential Envoy for Local weather John Kerry African Ministerial Convention on the Environmen
Remarks of Particular Presidential Envoy for Local weather John Kerry
African Ministerial Convention on the Setting (AMCEN)
Dakar, Senegal
Thursday, September 15, 2022
As Ready
It’s a pleasure to be right here once more in Africa alongside so a lot of my mates and companions, particularly as all of us put together to move to Egypt this fall for COP27.
It’s an honor to be part of this yr’s AMCEN, the place I hope to supply just a few ideas however largely hear from you. I want to significantly thank our hosts right here in Senegal: President Macky Sall, and your AMCEN President, Minister AbdouKarim Sall. Thanks on your management, on local weather and so many different important points, not simply regionally however internationally.
AMCEN is considered one of this continent’s premier organizations for motion and implementation. You additionally acknowledge our challenges are too massive for anyone nation — or group of countries — to unravel alone. We have to work collectively — because the non-public sector, civil society, governments, and tribal and indigenous teams, to win the battle right here. Partnerships will probably be key, in Africa and past.
Senegal, then, is a becoming setting — you might be world well-known because the “Land of Teranga” for your legendary hospitality, generosity, and values.
You see it in this nation’s exceptional peace and stability. The way you all the time cook dinner a bit of additional in case a visitor exhibits up. You even see it at Senegalese weddings —as a substitute of particular person invitations, the entire city exhibits up.
In Senegal, you deal with one another as a part of one household — one group.
Local weather change, equally, is a problem that impacts the complete world — as one group.
Right here in Africa, you see the urgency of this second. 17 of the world’s 20 most local weather weak international locations are on this continent.
I used to be simply visiting Nigeria and met with Minister Abdullahi, President Buhari, and others, and heard first-hand about devastating impacts of flooding and the challenges of the present energy grid.
I do know right here in Senegal, coastal erosion — together with alongside the well-known Corniche — has accelerated.
This yr has seen devastating floods in South Africa, Mozambique, and Uganda kill a whole lot and displaced tens of 1000’s. In the meantime, the Horn of Africa is in its 4thyr of drought, with greater than 18 million struggling meals insecurity in consequence.
We’re seeing impacts in each nation on this planet: the worst drought in Chinese language historical past has left the Yangtze River, the longest in Asia, almost dry in locations. We’ve seen unprecedented floods in Pakistan, and heatwaves in the US. Temperatures 100 — 100! — levels above regular in Antarctica. And yearly we now lose ten million of our fellow human beings globally to excessive warmth and air air pollution.
The IPCC tells us none of us are transferring quick sufficient to cut back emissions. However we will nonetheless safe a more healthy, cleaner, safer planet for all of us.
To keep away from the worst penalties of the local weather disaster — simply the worst — we should maintain complete temperature rise inside the1.5-degree restrict. Meaning reducing emissions 45% this decade and reaching a web zero, air pollution impartial world by mid-century. That’s not my judgment or President Biden’s. That’s easy physics and arithmetic.
So all of us must be trustworthy about the place we discover ourselves. It’s true that 20 international locations – together with the US — are actually accountable for 80 % of all emissions. It’s also true that 48 international locations in sub-Saharan Africa are accountable for solely 0.55% of complete emissions.
However we are all on this collectively. All of us are threatened by emissions — and Mom Nature does not care the place these emissions come from. The problem of the local weather disaster comes from the disaster of emissions in each nation — the automobiles we drive, how we cook dinner our meals, warmth and funky our houses.
We can’t afford to repeat the errors of the previous. The way you determine to strategy the longer term can have a profound impression, not simply on Africa, however on our capacity as a planet to unravel this drawback.
On mitigation, President Biden has introduced unprecedented assets and ambition to this battle — he rejoined the Paris Settlement on Day One, set formidable NDC goal, and this summer season, he signed the Inflation Discount Act, crucial local weather laws in United States historical past.
And, consistent with the Glasgow Local weather Pact, we’d like others– particularly the foremost economies — to step up and align their NDCs with the Paris temperature purpose by COP 27. With out that, and with out additional efforts to decarbonize key sectors, there’s merely no path to holding 1.5 alive.
However whereas we act to mitigate warming, we should additionally act to adapt to a hotter world, now and sooner or later. Right here in Africa and world wide, we have to adapt to a planet already 1.1 levels hotter, with extra warming to return.
The IPCC has recognized devastating impacts of our present, 1.1-degree hotter world — however you don’t want to examine them, you might be already dwelling by means of them. Decrease crop yields, particularly right here in West Africa. Collapse of small fisheries and coral reefs, together with within the Pink Sea. Unprecedented warmth, floods, and supercharged storms within the Horn.
Adaptation have to be on the core of our local weather planning if we’re to avoid wasting lives and livelihoods from modifications we will now not keep away from.
In Africa, with the world’s quickest rising populations and quickest rising economies, adaptation is lives saved – it’s jobs created – and it’s additionally widespread sense. Roads, bridges, and ports can solely spur financial progress and cut back poverty subsequent yr if they’re constructed to outlive the storms of tomorrow.
So what’s the US doing about it?
First, the United States will all the time assist when catastrophe strikes.
Final yr, we supplied $8.2 billion in humanitarian assist. In Africa, that included important help to the folks of Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Mauritania in response to their unprecedented drought.
Second, we are working with multilateral improvement banks, or MDBs, to assist climate-vulnerable folks entry risk-based insurance coverage – in case catastrophe strikes. We have to improve entry to catastrophe danger financing, and help theG7’s efforts to shut the finance hole by means of the so-called “International Defend,” defending weak folks — in Africa, within the Caribbean, Central America, and the Pacific.
These insurance coverage swimming pools work. In 2019, in Senegal alone greater than half 1,000,000 folks have been insured by means of African Threat Capability, or ARC. When drought hit, these payouts and pre-arranged reduction helped keep away from hunger.
Third, we should redouble our adaptation efforts earlier than disasters to shield lives and investments.
This can actually imply the distinction between life and dying. In line with the Worldwide Federation of the Pink Cross and Pink Crescent Societies, or IFRC, higher early warning programs and adaptation can lower the variety of folks who want emergency help in half by 2030 — and, by 2050, from 200 million to simply 10 million. Think about that.
To put money into all of those methods and supercharge adaptation efforts globally, at COP26 President Biden launched his President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience, often called PREPARE.
PREPARE is a whole-of-government effort, mobilizing 18 U.S. Federal businesses to speed up adaptation motion and help, from forecasting to finance.
All informed, we are going to assist greater than half a billion folks in growing international locations adapt to and handle the impacts of local weather change this decade. And our PREPARE Motion Plan — which we hope to launch quickly — lays out precisely how the US will attain these objectives.
At the start, the plan acknowledges that data is energy.
PREPARE responds to the UN Secretary Common’s name to make sure inside the subsequent 5 years “Early Warning for All” and improve entry to local weather data.
For instance, 70% % of Africans depend on rain-fed agriculture, but most don’t have entry to early warning programs or important local weather data.
Anticipate bulletins at COP27 centered on closing that hole.
Second, we are serving to our companions, together with in Africa, construct adaptation into all their priorities – whether or not infrastructure, meals, well being, or water programs.
Final month Secretary of State Blinken visited this area to launch the U.S. Technique Towards Sub-Saharan Africa, supporting adaptation and a simply power transition.
We absolutely help African-led partnerships, just like the African Union’s Africa Adaptation Initiative. We can have extra to say about our help for this Initiative at COP27.
By PREPARE, we’re additionally working with companions, significantly in sub-Saharan Africa, to enhance climate-resilient agriculture and water storage capability. We see the distinction that may make proper now in ongoing drought in the Horn.
We’re additionally properly conscious that many African international locations, along with being climate-vulnerable, are thought-about fragile or conflict-affected. There’s a robust hyperlink between local weather vulnerability and battle.
Local weather change can exacerbate present tensions, in addition to result in new ones.
Battle and uncertainty may improve the vulnerability of communities and international locations to local weather change.
We’re working to deal with each side of this coin. Our PREPARE effort on adaptation may help construct peace; and our peacebuilding efforts beneath our International Fragility Act can enhance the outcomes of local weather adaptation efforts.
Lastly, all of us know we can’t attain our adaptation objectives with out adequate funding.
America helps the Glasgow name for developed international locations to collectively double their adaptation finance, and we’re doing our half.
As a part of PREPARE, President Biden dedicated to work with our Congress to offer $3 billion yearly for adaptation by 2024, the biggest dedication in U.S. historical past.
In Glasgow, we introduced our intent to make our first-ever contribution to the Adaptation Fund. We are going to make good on this promise, contributing $25M of this multi-year $50M dedication this yr.
To additional enhance entry to local weather finance, particularly for locally-led adaptation, the US helps the Least Developed Nations Initiative for Efficient Adaptation & Resilience, often called LIFE-AR. LIFE-AR international locations reminiscent of Uganda and Ethiopia are demonstrating how to make sure that weak folks can entry adaptation finance and make it as efficient as doable.
By one other PREPARE program, we’re serving to finance and planning ministries in Africa embed local weather danger into budgets and unlock non-public finance.
With regards to non-public finance, the worldwide monetary sector is starting to reply, mobilizing each the billions and the trillions you want.
With regards to simply the clear power transition, the IEA estimates we have to make investments $4 trillion {dollars}, yearly for many years. No authorities on earth — together with the US — has that type of capital accessible. Solely the non-public sector can entry funding at that stage.
And the IFC, Blackrock, and insurers and reinsurers know you have to be shielded from local weather danger to make investments.
Governments are additionally working with the non-public sector to check modern monetary instruments. America is supporting efforts to assist cities like Durban in South Africa incentivize investments in climate-resilient infrastructure.
There will probably be extra bulletins to return this yr, together with at a high-level occasion we’re co-hosting at COP27 with Egypt on Adaptation in Africa.
We additionally help the Glasgow mandate to do additional work on the Paris Settlement’s International Aim on Adaptation and will proceed to share experiences at adaptation workshops, together with at subsequent month’s hosted by Egypt.
Lastly, and importantly for this COP, we’re dedicated to taking extra steps on loss and injury – this implies getting the Santiago Community up and operating; participating in numerous initiatives that reply to particular issues of weak international locations; and making clear that the Glasgow Dialogue can have an end result on monetary preparations for loss and injury once they conclude in 2024.
My mates, I’ve been on this battle since even earlier than AMCEN was created. I participated within the first Earth Day in 1970.
I do know we will win this battle — if we battle it collectively.
The entire world may benefit if we acted a bit of extra Senegalese — if we utilized the values of Teranga and acted as one world group.
On behalf of all those that are relying on us — as we speak, tomorrow, and for generations to return — let’s get the job executed.
Thanks.
