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By Alister Doyle [[link removed]] | Climate Correspondent

Africa's opportunities

The Africa Climate Summit [[link removed]] (ACS) is hearing a lot about "opportunities" for combating climate change on the continent that has done least to cause warming yet is most vulnerable to its harmful impacts.

The September 4-6 summit in Nairobi is a striking shift for African governments, who have berated rich nations for failing to meet a promise to mobilise $100 billion a year in climate finance by 2020. That year, it totalled just $83 billion.

"For a very long time we have looked at this as a problem," Kenyan President William Ruto said of Africa and climate change. "It is time we flipped and looked at it from the other side. There are opportunities, immense opportunities".

"We are not here to catalogue grievances and list problems, we are here to scrutinise ideas, assess perspectives so that we can unlock solutions," he told delegates.

Delegates walk outside the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) during the first day of Africa Climate Summit (ACS) 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya, September 4, 2023. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi

For an example of opportunities, read the opinion piece by Malawi's President Lazarus Chakwera about his drive for solar, hydro and other renewable energies [[link removed]].

"Malawi may be a small country. However, that is not impeding us from going big where it matters: renewable energy," he writes.

And livestock - from sheep to cattle - provide opportunities for sustainable farming to slow climate change, argue Kenya's Environment Minister Soipan Tuya and Appolinaire Djikeng, director general of International Livestock Research Institute.

A farm worker distributes a line of feed to Angora goats near drought-stricken Graaff-Reinet, South Africa, November 16, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

"For the millions of herders, pastoralists and small-scale farmers like our families, the ability to keep livestock [[link removed]] is central to ensuring that Africa's response to the climate crisis is also just and equitable," they write.

And Mohamed Adow, director of energy and climate think-tank Power Shift Africa, writes that "the youngest continent on Earth is finally coming of age. This will bring exciting opportunities [[link removed]] and, equally, great expectations".

Highlighting opportunities for investment, despite past unkept promises of climate finance, the summit spurred pledges of hundreds of millions of dollars to boost Africa’s carbon credit production by 2030, with the United Arab Emirates alone committing $450 million.

Early September will also get a technical report by the United Nations about action under the 2015 Paris Agreement, which seeks deep cuts in global emissions to limit warming.

In a spoiler alert, U.N. climate change chief Simon Stiell told the Africa summit: "We are not on track". Echoing the summit buzzword, he said the COP28 meeting in Dubai starting in November will be "a key opportunity to course correct towards a sustainable future".

The trail to Tiger’s Nest monastery in Paro in Bhutan, June 22, 2023. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Roli Srivastava

Himalayan success

The global "stocktake" of climate action at COP28 will give clues about which nations are doing the most to slow climate change, and which are laggards.

The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan is a member of a tiny, stellar club - also including Suriname and Panama - which are carbon negative. That means Bhutan's forests absorb more emissions than it produces each year.

Read our correspondent Roli Srivastava's story about Bhutan's efforts to attract tourists - to promote jobs and the economy - while safeguarding nature [[link removed]] from too many visitors. Last month, Bhutan halved a wallet-emptying $200 daily fee [[link removed]] charged for visitors.

"Our future requires us to protect our heritage and forge fresh pathways for forthcoming generations," said Dorji Dhradhul, the director general of Bhutan's tourism department.

Houses in Queens in an area prone to flooding are reflected in a puddle during a Nor'easter in New York, U.S., October 26, 2021. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs

Flood insurance, in a flash

New York City is testing a way of getting cash quickly to families hit by floods [[link removed]] - who often struggle to cover everything from hotel stays to childcare and lost wages.

The $1.1-million project is using a complex insurance tool to make up to $15,000 available to low-income households affected by inland flooding – and to pay them within just days.

Our correspondent Carey L. Biron reports on how the project, the first in the United States, will work.

"You bring the individual interest in protecting their property and their families, and align that with the community interest in not having a lot of your citizens suddenly being out of luck," said Jeff Dunsavage, a senior research analyst with the Insurance Information Institute, an industry association.

"Mitigation becomes everybody's business."

Have a great week - and please take the opportunity to get in touch [mailto:[email protected]?subject=Africa%20Climate Summit: "opportunity" awaits]!

Alister

This week's top picks As climate disasters rise, New York tests fast insurance payouts [[link removed]]

US pilot program aims to get fast cash to low-income flood victims to see how it helps long-term economic recovery

Malawi's economic growth will be powered by renewable energy [[link removed]]

African nations have great potential to produce clean power and minerals for a green transition – but they need investment

Africa climate summit is vital moment for continent to take charge [[link removed]]

Africa Climate Summit (ACS) in Nairobi, Kenya, needs to spur action on clean energy, adaptation planning and financing mechanisms

Africa climate summit: a chance to spur the livestock sector [[link removed]]

The Africa Climate Summit is a chance to mobilise finance towards proven, sustainable livestock practices and technologies to combat climate change

Heat or eat? How efficient buildings today can save lives tomorrow [[link removed]]

To save energy, slash household bills and emissions by renovating buildings - the EU must direct funding to those who need it most

Indigenous peoples’ land rights are under threat in Brazil [[link removed]]

Brazil’s Senate is debating a bill that could strip Indigenous peoples’ land rights unless they can prove they lived there in 1988

Read all of our coverage here [[link removed]] Editor's pick Bhutan seeks to balance economy and environment with tourist tax [[link removed]]

Bhutan's Sustainable Development Fee highlights challenge of trying to revive tourism post-pandemic while avoiding harm to nature

[[link removed]]Discover more Nature [[link removed]] Climate Risks [[link removed]] Net Zero [[link removed]] Just Transition [[link removed]] Climate Justice [[link removed]] Green Cities [[link removed]] Thank you for reading!

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