European Union

On the final day of the Second Stakeholder Forum of the Africa-EU Energy Partnership (AEEP), a high-level panel focused on measures of success in Africa-EU energy cooperation, highlighting progress at country and regional levels, and linkages with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The panel was facilitated by Lerato Mbele, BBC World News Anchor and Master of Ceremony of the Forum, and included Mohamed Shaker, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Egypt; Thomas Silberhorn, Parliamentary State Secretary, Germany; Kipyego Cheluget, Deputy Secretary General, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa; and Irene Muloni, Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Uganda. Thereafter, a roundtable of senior policy and business leaders highlighted challenges and opportunities facing Africa and Europe in catalyzing energy investments. Moderated by Danso Hubert, CEO, Africa Investor, South Africa, the panel included Michele Scandellari, CEO Enerray; Paul Smith Lomas, CEO, Practical Action; Yofi Grant, CEO, Data Bank, Ghana; Felice Zaccheo DG DEVCO - European Commission; and Giles Dickson, CEO, WindEurope. The round table discussed options for accelerating long-term business investments in the energy sector and how to encourage the emergence of a new generation of dynamic and creative African and European business leaders for the benefit of future energy sector development. Paul Smith Lomas then presented a Joint Statement for Action comprising commitments from AEEP stakeholders for activities to achieve the 2020 Political Targets. The Call for Action highlighted the importance of: ensuring regional cooperation and harmonization of sustainable energy initiatives and programmes; addressing energy’s vital role in climate mitigation and adaptation, access to water and the food nexus; promoting job creation in the renewable energy market in Africa, with a particular focus on the inclusion of youth and women; and moving beyond household energy needs to address energy access at the community and enterprise levels. In the afternoon, during the first-ever AEEP ‘Science and Business Slam,’ eleven young scientists and entrepreneurs presented their research and business ideas, with each receiving feedback from scientists and technology leaders from Africa and Europe. In a vote at the end of the session, participants awarded the prize for the best business idea to Lois Gicheru, Solarafrique, Kenya, for her community mini-grid project. Paul Bertheau, Reiner Lemoine Institut, Germany, won in the best research project category for a project utilizing GIS technology to generate data in support of rural electrification in Nigeria. Following an overview of impressions from young journalists attending the Forum, participants adopted the Milan Communiqué as the final outcome of the 2nd AEEP Stakeholder Forum. After concluding remarks by representatives of the AEEP Co-Chairs, stakeholders and African ministers, the meeting came to a close at 5 pm. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web updates from the Second Stakeholder Forum of the Africa-EU Energy Partnership (AEEP) - Business and Science: Leading the Way to Sustainable Energy. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has published a summary report from the Forum, which is available in HTML and PDF format. Eva Kagiri, FinCEAL Africa/Finnish University Partnership for International Development, introduces the 11 young entrepreneurs and scientists who presented business and research ideas at the Forum. The young journalists who participated in the Forum are introduced to participants. Participants pose for a photo on the second day of the Forum Participants during a break One of the artists from Housatonic Design Network who provided graphic facilitation throughout the meeting. Photos courtesy of AEEP Secretariat

The Bonn Climate Change Conference opened on Monday. In the morning, COP 21/CMP 11 President Ségolène Royal, France, opened the session, calling on negotiators to become “builders” working from the foundation laid by the Paris Agreement. This sentiment was echoed by UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres, who received a standing ovation in gratitude for her service. After opening statements, the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) opening plenary took place. In the afternoon, the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) opening plenary convened, where parties, after some debate, adopted the agenda, pending further discussions on an agenda item on the registry of nationally determined contributions referred to in Article 4, paragraph 12 of the Paris Agreement. After opening several agenda items, the SBI suspended and the SBSTA opening reconvened. A SBSTA contact group, SBSTA and SBI informal consultations, and an in-session workshop on exploring financing and the use of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) by international climate finance institutions also convened in the afternoon. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, has providing daily web coverage, daily reports from the Bonn Climate Change Conference - May 2016. In adiition, IISD Reportaing Services has also published a summary and analysis report from this meeting, which is available in HTML and PDF format. Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Opening Plenary Panelists during the opening plenary (L-R): Salaheddine Mezouar, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Morocco, and COP 22/CMP 12 President-Designate; UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres; Ségolène Royal, COP 21/CMP 11 President; June Budhooram, COP Secretary; and SBSTA Chair Carlos Fuller, Belize UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres Salaheddine Mezouar, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Morocco, and COP 22/CMP 12 President-Designate Ségolène Royal, COP 21/CMP 11 President Manasvi Srisodapol, Thailand, speaking on behalf of the G-77/China Patrick Suckling, Australia, speaking on behalf of the Umbrella Group Ivo de Zwaan, EU Franz Perrez, Switzerland, speaking on behalf of the Environmental Integrity Group (EIG) Abdullahi Majeed, Maldives, speaking on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Rosilena Lindo, Panama, speaking on behalf of the Coalition for Rainforest Nations (CfRN) Hussein Alfa Nafo, Mali, speaking on behalf of the African Group Paul Oquist Kelley, Nicaragua Nedal Katbehbader, State of Palestine Ayman Shasly, Saudi Arabia, speaking on behalf of the Arab Group Indira Al Dahabi, Jordan, speaking on behalf of the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDCs) Ravi Prasad, India, speaking on behalf of Brazil, South Africa, India and China (BASIC) Prachi Rao, Women and Gender Max van Deursen, YOUNGO Sébastien Duyck, Climate Action Network (CAN) Øyvind Christophersen, Norway, speaks with Florin Vladu, Adaptation Programme Manager, UNFCCC SBSTA Opening Plenary SBSTA Panel: Richard Kinley, UNFCCC Deputy Executive Secretary; Wanna Tanunchaiwatana, SBSTA Coordinator; SBSTA Chair Carlos Fuller, Belize; and Hanna Hoffmann, UNFCCC Secretariat SBSTA Chair Carlos Fuller, Belize Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu, Democratic Republic of the Congo Laurence Tubiana, COP 21/CMP 11 Presidency Ian Fry, Tuvalu SBI Opening Plenary SBI Plenary (L-R): Richard Kinley, UNFCCC Deputy Executive Secretary; SBI Coordinator Katia Simeonova; SBI Chair Tomasz Chruszczow, Poland; Laurence Pollier, UNFCCC Secretariat; and SBI Vice-Chair Zhihua Chen, China SBI Chair Tomasz Chruszczow, Poland Trigg Talley, US Richard Kinley, UNFCCC Deputy Executive Secretary Khalid Muhammed Abuleif, Saudi Arabia Walter Schuldt Espinel, Ecuador Abias Huongo, Angola Rawleston Moore, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Khalid Muhammed Abuleif, Saudi Arabia, speaks with Fook Seng Kwok, Singapore, and Manasvi Srisodapol, Thailand Exploring Financing and Use of the CDM by International Climate Finance Institutions Panel speakers during the in-session workshop exploring financing and use of the CDM by international climate finance institutions Eduardo Calvo, Chair of the CDM Executive Board, Peru Silke Karcher, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety, Germany Georg Børsting, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway Delegates during the workshop Around the Venue Delegates before the start of plenary Oleg Shamanov, Russian Federation (center), speaks with delegates Simon Eggleston, World Meteorological Organization (WMO), speaks with Kiyoto Tanabe, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres with members of the Secretariat and the Moroccan delegation following the signing of the headquarters agreement on the organization of COP 22 Salaheddine Mezouar, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Morocco, and COP 22/CMP 12 President-Designate UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres Delegates around the venue Placards Delegates write messages to 'shine light on non-economic losses' caused by climate change Delegates around the venue

The Second Stakeholder Forum of the Africa-EU Energy Partnership (AEEP) opened on Monday, 16 May 2016 at the Politecnico di Milano in Milan, Italy. Jointly organized by the AEEP, the Italian Government, the African Union Commission (AUC) and the European Commission, the two-day Forum is focusing on how to advance renewable energy innovation, capacity building and investment, under the overall theme of ‘Business and Science: Leading the Way to Sustainable Energy.’ Following opening addresses by high-level representatives from the organizing partners, participants met in two plenary panel discussions on: innovating and investing in the energy sector in Africa; and coordinating and aligning initiatives to meet the AEEP Targets. During the discussions, two new AEEP reports ‘Status Report Update: 2016 – A mid-term report on progress, achievements and future perspectives’ and ‘Mapping of Energy Initiatives and Programs in Africa: Final Report’ were presented. In the afternoon, six thematic parallel sessions organized by AEEP Stakeholder Action Groups addressed the following topics: lessons learned from successful roll-out and scale-up of energy access business models and programmes, with a focus on capacity building of project developers to “reach the last mile first”; strategies for incorporating energy efficiency in energy policy discussion in Africa; enhancing energy security in Africa and Europe through cross-border transmission and power pools; follow up of initiatives launched at the Paris Climate Change Conference that have significant implications for energy sectors in emerging and developing countries; local political ownership and governance structures to drive energy efficiency in urban areas; and strengthening pubic sector capacities to facilitate increase of private investment and financing. During the closing session, Roberto Vigotti, Director, Renewable Energy Solutions for the Mediterranean (RES4MED) invited the AEEP Secretariat to a business networking session in Rome in two days, prior to formally launching RES4AFRICA in October in Kenya. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web updates from the Second Stakeholder Forum of the Africa-EU Energy Partnership (AEEP) - Business and Science: Leading the Way to Sustainable Energy. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has published a summary report from the Forum, which is available in HTML and PDF format. Participants applaud during the plenary discussions H.E. Dr Elham Ibrahim, Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, AUC, delivers the keynote address during the official opening session. Tom Pätz, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany, moderating the thematic session on energy security, connectivity and regional integration L-R: David Otieno, Head, AEEP Secretariat, in discussion with Irene Margaret Nafuna Muloni, Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Uganda AEEP staff distribute the report on ‘Mapping of Energy Initiatives and Programs in Africa’ Photos courtesy of AEEP Secretariat

On Friday, 6 May 2016, delegates to the first meeting of the CBD Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI) finalized 13 recommendations. CBD Executive Secretary Dias highlighted recommendations on biodiversity mainstreaming, the SBI modus operandi, synergies with biodiversity-related conventions, guidelines for national reports, and resource mobilization. He also pointed to the voluntary peer-review process of implementation, and to COP 13 meeting for the first time concurrently with the Protocols’ COP/MOPs. The EU drew attention to the need to scale up efforts to achieve the Aichi targets, and to link efforts on biodiversity mainstreaming with the Sustainable Development Goals. India for Asia-Pacific considered that the SBI was off to a good start and welcomed the identification of means to overcome obstacles in achieving the Aichi targets, such as capacity building and resource mobilization. St Kitts and Nevis for GRULAC underscored the need to review progress also in the provision of support for implementation. The CBD Alliance noted the need to look into implementation in more detail in the future, involving indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs), women and civil society in the peer review of NBSAPs and national reports; and expressed concern about the emphasis on the business sector and natural capital in relation to biodiversity mainstreaming. The International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity urged the full and effective participation of IPLCs, including women and youth, in the review of implementation, in work on integration of the Convention and its Protocols, and capacity building. SBI 1 Chair Jae Choe (Republic of Korea) congratulated delegates on their tireless work ethic and drew the meeting to a close at 4:47 pm. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web updates from the 20th Meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice and the 1st Meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has produced a summary and analysis of both meetings which is available in HTML and PDF format. L-R: Fumiko Nakao and Joji Miyamori, Japan Tia Stevens, Australia SBI plenary SBI 1 delegates huddle in the corridors Anne Theo Seinen, EU delegation Global Youth Biodiversity Network stand