Climate Action

 

Dr Alemu Mekonnen - Center Director and Senior Research Fellow at the EfD center in Ethiopia/EEPFE and an Assistant Professor of economics at the School of Economics of Addis Ababa University.

“Africa has not benefitted much from the carbon market mechanisms. One reason is that the existing systems do not take the conditions in Africa into account, for example that the major sources of greenhouse gas emissions are livestock, and firewood used for household energy. When it comes to energy systems, Ethiopia is already green because we use hydro-electricity. Hence, in contrast to China we can´t harness the system and say we will shift from coal energy to a cleaner energy source and therefore receive support."

Dr. Adane Tuffa - Research Fellow at EfD Ethiopia and an Assistant Professor of economics at the School of Economics of Addis Ababa University.

“Industrialized countries have for a long time emitted greenhouse gases far in excess of what the earth can withstand. Some researchers call this the natural debt of the North, as opposed to the financial debt of the South. "

Dr Jim Yong Kim - 12th president of World Bank

“Nevertheless, every country -- no matter its stage of development -- can strive to effectively manage its economy and to decarbonize, while also ending poverty and boosting shared prosperity. At a minimum, this means strong policy signals that make clear the long-term goals -- carbon pricing, appropriate energy prices linked to efficiency standards, and removing subsidies that are harmful, including fossil fuel subsidies."

"We understand that many of our clients face huge development challenges and that many countries will reach their own peak emissions at different moments. Managing their economies to ensure that they can, for example, decarbonize their energy sectors over time while at the same time having the energy they need for development constitutes a challenge no developed country has had to face as it was industrializing. Nevertheless, every country—no matter its stage of development—can strive to effectively manage its economy and to decarbonize, while also ending poverty and boosting shared prosperity."

Axel Harneit-Sievers - Director, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Nairobi, Kenya Regional Office for East Africa and the Horn of Africa

“Africa has contributed very little to global warming, but it will be affected severely by climate change. While the continent has a role to play in the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, Africa’s major focus is on issues of adaptation. In order to address the challenges of adaptation to climate change, African countries need substantial financial resources. At the same time, they require information systems, technical capacity, and the right policies and institutions. The governance of climate change adaptation is as important as its finance."

Jakob von Uexküll - World Future Council Founder

“Climate change is the biggest challenge humanity is facing. Governments need to urgently live up to their responsibilities to ensure that our children will inherit a healthy earth."

Kim Carstensen - Leader of WWF’s Global Climate Initiative.

"Copenhagen was at the brink of failure due to poor leadership combined with an unconvincing level of ambition."

"Well meant but half-hearted pledges to protect our planet from dangerous climate change are simply not sufficient to address a crisis that calls for completely new ways of collaboration across rich and poor countries."

"We are disappointed but the story continues. Civil society was excluded from these final negotiations to an extraordinary degree, and that was felt during the concluding days in Copenhagen."

Jill Cairns - Senior Scientist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)

"African seed companies and government agencies just aren't in touch with climate- change predictions published in scientific journals. So looking at downscaled projections for their regions really brought home how much conditions are expected to change, and how much seed-breeding programmes need to adapt."

Steven J Davis - Climate researcher at Carnegie Institution for Science in Stanford, California

"It is clear that the energy infrastructure already in existence doesn't leave us with much room to maneuver under current climate benchmarks."

"The transition to energy infrastructure that doesn't emit CO2 to the atmosphere will take time, something that is in short supply."

Richard Newell - Energy economist at Duke University and former director of the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

“Because of the lock-in from infrastructure, meeting the climate target is a tall order. Even if it were technically possible, it is not economically or politically realistic."

"Unless something significant changes about our energy technologies, markets, and policies, current trends lead to an energy future that looks very much like the present. Just bigger-much bigger. Richard Newell - Energy economist at Duke University and former director of the U.S. Energy "

Bruce Campbell - CCAFS Program Director

“Building resilience to climate change and establishing food security means moving away from a narrow focus on crop varieties and agricultural technologies."