Development first: addressing climate change in Africa

Abstract

The Climate for Development in Africa (ClimDev Africa) Framework Programme Document calls for the organization of an annual conference which serves as a stakeholder forum on Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA). The ClimDev Africa Programme is a joint initiative of the African Union Commission (AUC), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB). The programme has been mandated at regional meetings of African Heads of State and Government, as well as by Africa’s Ministers of Finance, Planning and Environment, and responds to the urgent challenge that climate change poses to the advancement of Africa’s development objectives. More concretely, it seeks to address the need for greatly improved climate data and information for Africa, and to also strengthen the use of such information for decision making by improving analytical capacity, knowledge management and dissemination activities. 2 As the Secretariat for the ClimDev Africa Programme, the African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) will host the inaugural CCDA conference between 17 and 19 October 2011 at the United Nations Conference Centre in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The title and theme for the conference is Development First: Addressing Climate Change in Africa reflecting the need to integrate development and climate policies, and emphasizes the importance of African ownership of the policy formulation and decision making process.