AU: Morocco in Favor of African Alliance to Combat Climate Change

Morocco stressed, on Monday in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, the need for an African alliance to combat climate change as well as the role of the three climate commissions in strengthening resilience and adaptation on the continent. Speaking at the Fourth Ordinary Session of the Specialized Technical Committee (STC) on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons held in Malabo, Ambassador Mohamed Arrouchi, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom to the African Union and UNECA, highlighted the factors that exacerbate and further aggravate the physical effects of climate change on the continent, namely the rising population trend, the precarious economic situation and the lack of adequate technological capacity. Africa’s statistics and performance indicators in relation to the above factors do not support resilience and adaptation that would enable the continent to cope with climate change in a sustainable manner, the diplomat observed. In that regard, he called for capitalizing on continental initiatives, including the three Climate Commissions of the Sahel, the Congo Basin and the Island States, in order to materialize actions to strengthen the continent’s adaptation and resilience to this scourge. The diplomat who leads the Moroccan delegation to this event recommended an African alliance to meet the challenges of climate change so as to maximize the mobilization and the resources available to the continent to strengthen its adaptation and resilience, both in terms of early warning systems and interaction with the various partners of Africa. Recalling that Africa remains the continent that contributes the least in greenhouse gas emissions, Arrouchi stressed that the main issue in this fight remains reducing carbon emissions. The Moroccan diplomat called for putting this item on the agenda of the meetings with Africa’s partners to strengthen advocacy and address this phenomenon.