Expert Panel #3

The Converging Climate and Bioeconomy Agendas in Africa

Joachim von BraunAugustin Wambo YamdjeuGetaw TadesseCecilia D'alessandroJulius Ecuru
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a) Share the key findings of the 2024 ATOR;

Africa is facing the brunt of the global climate crisis. Many of the continent’s regions are seeing decreased agricultural productivity due to climate stresses and shifting rainfall patterns, and its coastal nations are confronting rising sea levels that threaten livelihoods and critical infrastructure. The torrential rains in Libya in September that caused the collapse of two dams and several thousand deaths, the recent floods in Kenya, and the El Niño–induced droughts in Southern Africa impacting more than 30 million people are just a few examples of how extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and more intense. Without immediate action to both mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adapt to climate change, there is a serious risk that millions of people across the continent will be pushed into acute hunger and lose their livelihoods, putting the economic development progress achieved over the past decades in jeopardy. At the same time, innovations in developing a sustainable bioeconomy in Africa offer real opportunities to address multiple challenges simultaneously. The 2024 edition of the Annual Trends and Outlook Report (ATOR) explores the challenges that the climate crisis poses for agrifood systems, and the opportunities offered by a transition to a bioeconomy to mitigate and adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change. It seek to support the ongoing development and the subsequent implementation of a new 10-year CAADP strategy by the African Union.

Opening and framing remarks

  • Joachim von Braun (ZEF), Chair and Moderator – Opening and global political context [ 05 min]
  • Augustin Wambo Yamdjeu (AKADEMIYA2063) – Introducing the 2024 ATOR and key findings and continental political context [ 05 min]

 

Moderated panel [ 45 min, 02 questions for each]

  • Getaw Tadesse (AKADEMIYA2063) – The nexus between climate change and bioeconomy
  • Mwangala Nalisa (University of Namibia) – Strategy and country-level experience
  • Cecilia d’Alessandro (ECDPM) – Climate change financing
  • Ebenezer Miezah Kwofie (McGill University) – the Bioeconomy-Nutrition Nexus

Q&A [30 min]

 

Closing Remarks

  • Julius Ecuru, icipe/BioInnovate Africa

Organizer

AKADEMIYA2063International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE)Bonn University, Center for Development Research (ZEF)

Panelists

Moderators & Panelists

Joachim von Braun

Joachim von Braun

Professor

Bonn University, Center for Development Research (ZEF)

Augustin Wambo Yamdjeu

Augustin Wambo Yamdjeu

Director, Knowledge Systems

AKADEMIYA2063

Getaw Tadesse

Getaw Tadesse

Director, Operational Analysis

AKADEMIYA2063

Cecilia D'alessandro

Cecilia D'alessandro

Deputy Workstream Head of ECDPM's Sustainable Food Systems Workstream and a member of the Climate Action and Green Transition Team

ECDPM

Julius Ecuru

Julius Ecuru

Leiter des „BioInnovate Africa“-Programms

International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE)