Sharm El-Sheikh- — African Union Commission (AUC) has called on partners’ support to enable it to implement the Green Recovery Action Plan (GRAP). Speaking at a roundtable dinner on the sides of the ongoing COP27 in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, Commissioner Josefa Sacko of the AUC told partners that their support is crucial to turn the GRAP into reality.
“We really need your support to advance this important agenda,” according to a senior African Union Commission official, Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko.
The Green Recovery Action Plan is a policy developed by countries to tackle the combined challenges of COVID-19 recovery and climate change. It focuses on critical areas of joint priority, including climate finance, renewable energy, resilient agriculture, biodiversity, and resilient cities.
Highlighting the flagship nature o the GRAP, Commissioner Sacko told partners gathered for the dinner that collective action is needed to implement the GRAP effectively. She invited African countries to co-champion the pillars of the GRAP. Zambia has already volunteered to champion the bio-diversity pillar of the GRAP.
To fully implement the GRAP, almost $ 75 million is required. The GRAP financing facility is intended to catalyze the implementation at national and continental levels and assist in financing Green Transition Fund creation at the national and continental levels.
Present at the dinner were representatives from several international organizations. Among the guests was Selwin Hart, UN Deputy Secretary General. In his statement, he stressed the importance of the GRAP and its contribution to helping Africa recover from the COVID-19 and climate crises.
“The GRAP is African-owned, African-developed, and requires the full and unconditional support of the international community.”
Despite Africa’s enormous potential for renewable energy, accounting for over 60 percent of the world’s energy capacity in Africa, only 1 percent of installed solar power is in Africa.
Selwin Hart concluded by recommitting that the United Nations will continue to remain an essential partner across all five priority areas of the GRAP in supporting AU member states as they work towards achieving strategic priorities.
This story is produced as part of the 2022 Climate Change Media Partnership, a journalism fellowship organized by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network and the Stanley Center for Peace and Security.
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