In a late November communiqué, the PSC highlighted the importance of adopting climate-sensitive planning for post-conflict construction, peacekeeping and development efforts, citing the Cairo International Centre for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding (CCCPA).
The council also urged the AU Commission to finalise an assessment of climate-related security risks in Africa.
The council also called for accelerating climate finance and adaptation to consolidate Africa’s peace and development.
Egypt presided over the 15-member PSC in November and chaired numerous sessions, including a session on the repercussions of climate change on peace and security in Africa.
The country was selected to host COP27 during the 26th edition of the summit held in Glasgow last month.
During the Glasgow summit, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi highlighted the need to preserve the Paris Climate Accords to reduce emissions and adapt to the negative impacts of climate change.
The Paris Climate Accords — adopted at COP21 and signed by over 190 states including Egypt — came into effect in 2016 with the aim of reducing global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius in this century.
El-Sisi affirmed the importance of special treatment for Africa in the accords, highlighting that the continent, which contributes the lowest percentage of greenhouse gas emissions, has suffered the most negative repercussions of climate change.
Africa, however, is considered a "role model for serious climate action according to the continent's capabilities," El-Sisi added.
According to the World Bank's Groundswell Africa reports that were released late in October, Africa is expected to face the hardest impacts of climate change, displacing up to 86 million Africans by 2050 if mitigating efforts are not taken.
In October, Egypt’s Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad said COP27 would be a chance to support African demands and to help the continent acquire the needed funds to implement climate adaptation plans.
PSC hails CCCPA’s role
The PSC’s communiqué also highlighted the role of the CCCPA in strengthening the capacities of the AU to “advance a holistic African perspective on the climate, security and development nexus.”
The CCCPA, founded by the foreign ministry in 1994 and re-chartered in 2017 by a decree from the prime minister, is specialised in training, capacity building and research in the security and peace fields in Africa and the Middle East.
The CCCPA has stepped up its efforts regarding climate, security and development over the past two years, developing a first-of-its-kind training manual on “Climate Responsive Programming for Sustaining Peace in Africa.”
The centre has also held eight workshops and seminars on enhancing climate resilience for sustaining peace, including on the nexus between climate change and peacebuilding, gender, displacement and financing for fragile and conflict-affected settings, they said in a statement.
Short link: