The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the UN system and other development partners are called upon to remain mobilised behind African states in the pursuit of local resource-based industrialisation, including the promotion of a mineral value chain for lithium-ion batteries in Africa. This is the main recommendation of the Niamey Declaration, adopted on 2 March 2023 in the Nigerian capital, at the end of the ninth African Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (FRADD-9).
This recommendation is the second of a total of twelve. Its theme is similar to that addressed by the first recommendation, on transformative initiatives favourable to a green revival of economic growth. On this point, the President of Niger called on the developed countries. “Climate change, coupled with demographic dynamics, has created challenges in many African countries that need to be addressed if Africa is to make progress towards achieving the sustainable development goals. Developed countries must play their part in ensuring that African countries have access to climate finance, particularly with regard to the Sahel Climate Fund,” says Mohamed Bazoum.
The Loss and Damage Fund
In addition to issues related to access to water and sanitation, the preservation of biodiversity and the sharing of scientific knowledge, FRADD-9 participants insisted on the respect of international agreements and the implementation of major resolutions in the fight against climate change. This is the case of the Loss and Damage Fund, adopted at COP27 in Egypt. The Niamey declaration states: “Let the efforts undertaken to create a Loss and Damage Fund bear fruit so that resources can be mobilised to compensate for the increasing losses of infrastructure, ecosystems and livelihoods due to extreme climatic phenomena that are severely affecting the continent”.
The 9th FRADD also calls on the international community to meet its obligations under the Paris Agreement and to redouble its efforts to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions so that humanity can continue to live in a stable climate system.
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The ninth session of the Forum was held under the theme: “Accelerating Inclusive and Green Recovery from Multiple Crises and the Full and Integrated Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want of the African Union”. This theme is closely linked to the theme of the 2023 High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development meeting, namely “Accelerating recovery from the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels”. The meeting is being held from Monday 10 July to Wednesday 19 July 2023 in New York, United States of America.
Garama Saratou Rabiou Inoussa, Niger’s Minister of the Environment, Urban Hygiene and Sustainable Development, in her capacity as Chair of FRADD-9, will present the forum’s recommendations at the upcoming global gatherings on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate. In addition to the July meeting in New York, these include the SDG Summit on 19-20 September 2023, the UN General Assembly’s Week of High-Level Segment, COP28 and global, regional and sub-regional fora on the accelerated implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
Boris Ngounou