Story, Louvier Kindo Tombe
Over 200 young activists from across the African continent began meeting in Yaoundé on Tuesday, October 29, 2024 for the second edition of the Youth Forum on Adaptation Finance in Africa (YOFAFA2024). Focus is to empower them on how to better advocate for more than double climate adaptation finance to enhance energy access for climate adaptation and resilience in Africa.
“If you look at climate adaptation finance today it is insignificant, that explains why the youths want it to be more than double,” says Dr. Augustine B. Njamnshi, Executive Director of the Coalition for Sustainable Energy and Access (ACSEA).
The Executive Director who doubles as Chair of Political and Technical Affairs at the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance was speaking at the end of the opening ceremony of the forum.
Present at the opening was HE Jean-Marc Chataigner, Ambassador of the European Union to Cameroon who said “we have to fight climate change because the change is there”.
“It is very important to finance adaptation to climate change.”
The opening ceremony preceded panel discussions on varied topics related to climate adaptation finance and energy access in Africa.
University dons, climate experts, and government officials shared knowledge with the participants on;
– The Current State of Adaptation Finance in Africa,
– Interlinking Climate Finance, Energy Access and Adaptation,
– Mapping Financing Gaps and Opportunities for Energy Access in Africa,
– Community-Led Solutions to Finance Climate Adaptation,
– Technology and Innovation for Climate Resilience in Africa,
– Language and Communication in Advancing Climate Adaptation Finance Agenda, among others.
A key focus in the climate adaptation finance was on access to climate finance. To Ambassador Jean-Marc Chataigner, finance is not sufficient, “it is also important to have the capacity to formulate projects and programmes”.
“There are already some funds available in the Green Climate Fund, so it’s necessary that we support national efforts so that Africans can more and more be able to have access to these funds.”
At the end of the forum, the organisers, ACSEA, expect to see a more dynamic youthful population embracing climate actions.
“What will change is to see an African youth who is more interested in adaptation finance issues,” says Dr. Augustine B. Njamnshi.
the forum it should be noted ends on Thursday, October 31, 2024 in Yaounde with the presentation of the Yaoundé African Youth Call for More than Doubling Climate Finance.
