Title

Contributing to the Talanoa Dialogue: The African Climate Talks II
Thursday, March 22, 2018 to Friday, March 23, 2018
Intercontinental Hotel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

“One key outcome of the conference (COP 23) is the Talanoa Dialogue. Talanoa is a Fiji term for a conversation in which the people involved share ideas and resolve problems. As the sum total of the current climate targets under the Paris Agreement is not yet sufficient for limiting global warming to well below two degrees Celsius, agreement was reached in Paris that the international community would have to raise the level of ambition over time. The Talanoa Dialogue is the trial run for this ambition mechanism.”

The world’s governments reached the Paris Agreement in 2015 at COP 21. The agreement commits to specific targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Paris Agreement has been hailed as a breakthrough moment in the trajectory of the UNFCCC framework, capping emissions not more than 20C since the 19th century onset of the industrial revolution. While 2 degrees warming has been considered the upper limit of ‘safe’ warming, the Paris Accord further seeks, if possible, to aim for even lower warming target of 1.5 degrees. The 20C target is itself a political limit, with scientific debates still raging over its implications for the various regions (e.g. IPCC Special report. The main mechanism by which nations commit towards achieving the objectives of the Accord are the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)).

To facilitate the foregoing discourse, the ACPC in collaboration with Addis Ababa University will convene the second round of the African Climate Talks (ACT!) at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on the 22-23rd March 2018. The event will be a follow-up to the inaugural ACT event which took place in September 2015 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Stories

The second African Climate Talks conclude with calls for homegrown solutions

Ethiopia urges Africa to take bold measures to combat climate change

Strong institutions needed to help Africa navigate climate change, says Ambassador Di-Aping

African Climate Talks Launches on Africa’s Contribution to the Talanoa Dialogue