Saturday, November 26, 2011

Africa moves for climate change adaptation

Patson Phiri in the Times of Zambia: The climate change conference set for Durban, South Africa starting on Monday November 28 provides an opportunity for the global community to reach a binding agreement towards the common goal of rescuing the planet, but deep divisions remain on the way forward.

African negotiators fear that developed Western nations— responsible for greenhouse gas emissions that have caused heat, droughts and destruction to the ozone layer because of increased industrialisation—will refuse to agree to a deal proposing that they should release adequate resources for adaptation to defuse a further collapse to the economies.

The 17th Conference of Parties (COP 17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will continue negotiations towards a global consensus on a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012.

The conference takes place at a time when countries such as Zambia have already experienced unpredictable weather patterns that have interchanged between droughts and floods and conversely, extreme heat and extreme cold.

This is why minister of Local Government, Housing, Early Childhood and Environmental protection Nkandu Luo was emphatic on the need for all Africans to speak as one because such challenges are shared by all poor nations....

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