21 local government officials from Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic (CAR), Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Mali, Togo and Morocco recently completed a capacity building programme for trainers on climate action in the Kingdom of Morocco. The initiative led by United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) and its partners aims to accelerate the ecological transition in African cities.
Through its African Academy of Local Authorities (ALGA), United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) has just delivered its first cohort of 21 “African Climate Action Trainers”. The latter were equipped for ten days at the Institut supérieur de l’information et de la communication (ISIC) in Rabat, Morocco, on several modules focusing on sustainable development in urban areas.
These include the territorial strategy for adaptation to climate change, an introduction to the ecological transition of territories and methods for developing and leading a territorial climate and energy plan (PCET). Among the beneficiaries of these workshops organised in partnership with the French Agency for Ecological Transition (ADEME) is the president of the commune of Boulaos in Djibouti.
“In Djibouti, we have 360 days of sunshine as well as extreme weather events that cause flooding during the rare rains of a day. This is due to climate change. These floods have caused a lot of damage and death in the past. This training will help us implement our action plan for a green and resilient commune,” explains Abdoulkader Iman Aden.
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The team of trainers was composed of Muriel Desgeorges, in charge of international projects at Ademe, Joseph Magloire Olinga, UCLG’s consultant for Cameroon, and Stéphane Simonet, the director of the consulting firm Acterra based in Marseille, France. For the secretary general of UCLG Africa, the “21 local climate ambassadors” will have the challenge of climate financing to implement sustainable projects in their municipalities. According to Jean-Pierre Elong Mbassi, 75% of the funds allocated to the fight against global warming are injected into mitigation, and only 25% are devoted to adaptation, which is essential to counter drought and pollution on the continent.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi
