Zambia
Permanent Observer Mission of the
AFRICAN UNION to the
United Nations
I
LAW. Ja&-I 3L
-u)
UNIAO AFRICANA
305 E47th Street, 5th Fl, New York, NY 10017, Tel . (212) 319-5490, Fax (212) 319-7135/319-6509
STATEMENT
BY
H. E. MR. TENS C. KAPOMA
AMBASSADOR,
PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE REPUBLIC OF
ZAMBIA TO THE UNITED NATIONS
CHAIRPERSON OF THE AFRICAN GROUP FOR THE
MONTH OF MAY 2006, ON BEHALF OF
THE AFRICAN GROUP
TO
THE 14TH SESSION OF THE COMMISSION ON
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (CSD-14) ON THE REVIEW
CYCLE ON THE THEMATIC CLUSTER OF ENERGY FOR
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, INDUSTRIAL
DEVELOPMENT, AIR/ATMOSPHERE POLLUTION AND
CLIMATE CHANGE
APRIL 2006
--------------------
New York, 1 May 2006
Mission Permanente d'Observation
de ('UNION AFRICAINE aupres des
Nations Unies
Please check against delivery
Mr. Chairman,
The African Group congratulates you and other members of the Bureau for your welldeserved
election to preside over the deliberations of CSD-14. We thank the Secretary-
General for his reports . However, we hope in the subsequent cycles of the CSD, the
Secretary-General will submit reports on each thematic issue . The African Group
associates itself with the letter dated 4 April 2006 sent by the Chairman of G-77 and
China to the Chairman of CSD-14 raising various concerns .
The current review session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) gives
us an opportunity to focus on reviewing the progress made so far in a number of
important areas : energy for sustainable development, industrial development,
air/atmosphere pollution, and climate change . In this context, I would like to highlight the
concerns of the African countries pertaining to these areas, including the overarching and
cross-cutting challenges faced by them, as well as possible approaches to overcome these
impediments .
Africa is the continent facing the biggest challenges in its efforts to achieve sustainable
development . In this regard, sustainable development for Africa has been identified as a
crosscutting issue to be considered in all the cycles of CSD. While the review exercise
organized by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in preparation for the 14 th
session of CSD showed that the African countries have taken significant steps towards
meeting their commitments for enhancing the achievement of sustainable development on
the continent, it also highlighted the fact that many African countries are still facing
serious challenges and constraints in meeting the targets and goals contained in Agenda
21, the programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg
Plan of Implementation.
In addition to the steps taken by the African countries, the participants of the regional
implementation meeting held in October 2005 acknowledged the valuable contribution of
the entities of the United Nations system, as well as of the various international partners
and organizations that support Africa's efforts in achieving sustainable development . At
the same time, the review has shown that the international community needs to further
strengthen their support to enable the African countries to effectively address the
challenges they are still facing .
Mr. Chairman,
Access to energy resources, achieving industrial development, and how we address the
challenges of the climate change and air/atmosphere pollution are some of the key
preconditions to achieving the three pillars of the sustainable development, namely
economic development, social prosperity and environment protection .
Although the African continent is endowed with considerable energy such as oil, gas and
coal reserves, it still lags behind all the other continents in energy use . The average
electricity access rate in Sub-Saharan Africa is estimated at about 23%, with big
disparities between countries, as well as urban and rural areas . Inadequate access to
modern energy is a serious impediment to poverty reduction and Africa's overall socioeconomic
development. The regional review process has identified some specific
challenges to the African region, including largely untapped energy resource potential,
low share of renewable energy, low private sector investment and participation in the
energy sector, and underdeveloped infrastructure .
Industrial development, in particular through technologies and processes that use natural
resources more efficiently, is a vital precondition to sustainable development . The
challenges faced by the African countries in this area include a weak policy environment,
limited access to latest technologies, inadequate levels of skilled work force . As
latecomers to industry, African countries are facing additional challenges emanating from
increasingly competitive environment . Most African countries have been unable to take
advantage of the opportunities provided by the globalization process .
Africa also remains highly vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change,
particularly droughts and floods . The majority of African economies are heavily
dependant on agriculture, with most of Sub-Saharan Africa relying primarily on rain-fed
agriculture. Thus, disasters related to climate change have direct negative consequences
on poverty reduction and food security in Africa, often leading to famine. The Secretary-
General's report notes that the average annual number of food emergencies in Africa has
more than doubled in the past two decades . The problem is further aggravated by the
unavailability of water and deterioration in water quality, which increase vulnerability to
diseases in affected areas . Floods, on the other hand, not only destroy crops, but also
buildings and infrastructure . Unfortunately, it is often the poorest people who are most
dependent on nature, and consequently suffer the most from the negative impacts of
climate change . In order to move forward in this area, climate change mitigation and
adaptation needs to be integrated into policy processes across a range of sectors, which
requires further mobilization of human capacity and knowledge, institutions and
governance, financial resources and technologies .
Mr. Chairman,
Inextricably linked to climate change, is the problem of air/atmosphere pollution that is
caused by unsustainable patterns of energy resource production and consumption .
Air/atmosphere pollution has had, and continues to have serious negative consequences
on human health, ecosystems, infrastructure and climate change in Africa . A number of
factors have constrained progress in this area in African countries, including weak
national energy and public health policies, limited access to cleaner technology financing,
lack of early warning systems and data collection capacities .
Progress in the areas of energy, climate change, sustainable industrialization and
air/atmosphere pollution needs to be addressed in an integrated manner in combination
with efforts aimed at a number of cross-cutting areas critical to Africa's development,
most notably poverty eradication and health . As noted by the Secretary-General's report,
many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are not on track to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals of halving extreme poverty by 2015. Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa
continues to be exacerbated by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, malaria, Tuberculosis and other
communicable diseases, natural disasters and conflicts .
Mr. Chairman,
Looking at the four areas currently under review, we can see that means of
implementation is of a particular relevance to the African countries . In this area we can
identify a number of impediments, which are preventing African countries from
achieving adequate progress in sustainable development. I would like to bring to your
attention three of these : lack of financial resources ; lack of appropriate technology; and
human and institutional capacity constraints .
Lack of financial resources is a key constraint in most African countries, preventing them
from achieving their sustainable development targets . This is equally relevant to all areas
currently under review. This constraint could be addressed through a combination of
measures by the international community, including enhanced efforts at achieving their
commitments regarding increased development assistance and aid effectiveness,
identification of innovative sources of financing and developing new financing
mechanisms, as well as support to the African countries to create an environment
conducive to foreign direct investment .
African countries also need support in the research and development and/or transfer of
appropriate, affordable and environmentally sound technologies . In this regard, there is a
need for enhanced cooperation for sharing of relevant experiences between the various
regions of the world, including, in particular, South-South cooperation . The issues of lack
of appropriate technologies and financing constraints are often interrelated . For example,
as noted at the regional implementation meeting, the lack of finance is limiting the
African countries' access to environmentally sound energy systems and cleaner
technologies .
Mr. Chairman,
Let me conclude by stressing that the achievement of sustainable development goals in
Africa requires an effective partnership between the African countries and their
development partners . Enhanced and more effective development aid, market access, as
well as support in capacity building and technology transfer, are vital preconditions for
Africa's development . On our side, the African countries are committed to ensuring that
the assistance received from our development partners is used in an efficient and
effective manner. In this context, I would also like to stress the importance of supporting
effective partnerships within Africa . As noted by the Secretary-General's report, regional
cooperation within the framework of NEPAD has brought good results . In this
connection, it is important to increase support to regional development initiatives, such as
NEPAD.
My sincere hope is that the current review session will provide the platform for the
adoption of policy measures at the next policy session, which will adequately address the
concerns and needs of the African countries and enable them to advance towards
achieving their sustainable development goals .
I thank you Mr . Chairman.
AFRICAN UNION to the
United Nations
I
LAW. Ja&-I 3L
-u)
UNIAO AFRICANA
305 E47th Street, 5th Fl, New York, NY 10017, Tel . (212) 319-5490, Fax (212) 319-7135/319-6509
STATEMENT
BY
H. E. MR. TENS C. KAPOMA
AMBASSADOR,
PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE REPUBLIC OF
ZAMBIA TO THE UNITED NATIONS
CHAIRPERSON OF THE AFRICAN GROUP FOR THE
MONTH OF MAY 2006, ON BEHALF OF
THE AFRICAN GROUP
TO
THE 14TH SESSION OF THE COMMISSION ON
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (CSD-14) ON THE REVIEW
CYCLE ON THE THEMATIC CLUSTER OF ENERGY FOR
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, INDUSTRIAL
DEVELOPMENT, AIR/ATMOSPHERE POLLUTION AND
CLIMATE CHANGE
APRIL 2006
--------------------
New York, 1 May 2006
Mission Permanente d'Observation
de ('UNION AFRICAINE aupres des
Nations Unies
Please check against delivery
Mr. Chairman,
The African Group congratulates you and other members of the Bureau for your welldeserved
election to preside over the deliberations of CSD-14. We thank the Secretary-
General for his reports . However, we hope in the subsequent cycles of the CSD, the
Secretary-General will submit reports on each thematic issue . The African Group
associates itself with the letter dated 4 April 2006 sent by the Chairman of G-77 and
China to the Chairman of CSD-14 raising various concerns .
The current review session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) gives
us an opportunity to focus on reviewing the progress made so far in a number of
important areas : energy for sustainable development, industrial development,
air/atmosphere pollution, and climate change . In this context, I would like to highlight the
concerns of the African countries pertaining to these areas, including the overarching and
cross-cutting challenges faced by them, as well as possible approaches to overcome these
impediments .
Africa is the continent facing the biggest challenges in its efforts to achieve sustainable
development . In this regard, sustainable development for Africa has been identified as a
crosscutting issue to be considered in all the cycles of CSD. While the review exercise
organized by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in preparation for the 14 th
session of CSD showed that the African countries have taken significant steps towards
meeting their commitments for enhancing the achievement of sustainable development on
the continent, it also highlighted the fact that many African countries are still facing
serious challenges and constraints in meeting the targets and goals contained in Agenda
21, the programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg
Plan of Implementation.
In addition to the steps taken by the African countries, the participants of the regional
implementation meeting held in October 2005 acknowledged the valuable contribution of
the entities of the United Nations system, as well as of the various international partners
and organizations that support Africa's efforts in achieving sustainable development . At
the same time, the review has shown that the international community needs to further
strengthen their support to enable the African countries to effectively address the
challenges they are still facing .
Mr. Chairman,
Access to energy resources, achieving industrial development, and how we address the
challenges of the climate change and air/atmosphere pollution are some of the key
preconditions to achieving the three pillars of the sustainable development, namely
economic development, social prosperity and environment protection .
Although the African continent is endowed with considerable energy such as oil, gas and
coal reserves, it still lags behind all the other continents in energy use . The average
electricity access rate in Sub-Saharan Africa is estimated at about 23%, with big
disparities between countries, as well as urban and rural areas . Inadequate access to
modern energy is a serious impediment to poverty reduction and Africa's overall socioeconomic
development. The regional review process has identified some specific
challenges to the African region, including largely untapped energy resource potential,
low share of renewable energy, low private sector investment and participation in the
energy sector, and underdeveloped infrastructure .
Industrial development, in particular through technologies and processes that use natural
resources more efficiently, is a vital precondition to sustainable development . The
challenges faced by the African countries in this area include a weak policy environment,
limited access to latest technologies, inadequate levels of skilled work force . As
latecomers to industry, African countries are facing additional challenges emanating from
increasingly competitive environment . Most African countries have been unable to take
advantage of the opportunities provided by the globalization process .
Africa also remains highly vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change,
particularly droughts and floods . The majority of African economies are heavily
dependant on agriculture, with most of Sub-Saharan Africa relying primarily on rain-fed
agriculture. Thus, disasters related to climate change have direct negative consequences
on poverty reduction and food security in Africa, often leading to famine. The Secretary-
General's report notes that the average annual number of food emergencies in Africa has
more than doubled in the past two decades . The problem is further aggravated by the
unavailability of water and deterioration in water quality, which increase vulnerability to
diseases in affected areas . Floods, on the other hand, not only destroy crops, but also
buildings and infrastructure . Unfortunately, it is often the poorest people who are most
dependent on nature, and consequently suffer the most from the negative impacts of
climate change . In order to move forward in this area, climate change mitigation and
adaptation needs to be integrated into policy processes across a range of sectors, which
requires further mobilization of human capacity and knowledge, institutions and
governance, financial resources and technologies .
Mr. Chairman,
Inextricably linked to climate change, is the problem of air/atmosphere pollution that is
caused by unsustainable patterns of energy resource production and consumption .
Air/atmosphere pollution has had, and continues to have serious negative consequences
on human health, ecosystems, infrastructure and climate change in Africa . A number of
factors have constrained progress in this area in African countries, including weak
national energy and public health policies, limited access to cleaner technology financing,
lack of early warning systems and data collection capacities .
Progress in the areas of energy, climate change, sustainable industrialization and
air/atmosphere pollution needs to be addressed in an integrated manner in combination
with efforts aimed at a number of cross-cutting areas critical to Africa's development,
most notably poverty eradication and health . As noted by the Secretary-General's report,
many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are not on track to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals of halving extreme poverty by 2015. Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa
continues to be exacerbated by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, malaria, Tuberculosis and other
communicable diseases, natural disasters and conflicts .
Mr. Chairman,
Looking at the four areas currently under review, we can see that means of
implementation is of a particular relevance to the African countries . In this area we can
identify a number of impediments, which are preventing African countries from
achieving adequate progress in sustainable development. I would like to bring to your
attention three of these : lack of financial resources ; lack of appropriate technology; and
human and institutional capacity constraints .
Lack of financial resources is a key constraint in most African countries, preventing them
from achieving their sustainable development targets . This is equally relevant to all areas
currently under review. This constraint could be addressed through a combination of
measures by the international community, including enhanced efforts at achieving their
commitments regarding increased development assistance and aid effectiveness,
identification of innovative sources of financing and developing new financing
mechanisms, as well as support to the African countries to create an environment
conducive to foreign direct investment .
African countries also need support in the research and development and/or transfer of
appropriate, affordable and environmentally sound technologies . In this regard, there is a
need for enhanced cooperation for sharing of relevant experiences between the various
regions of the world, including, in particular, South-South cooperation . The issues of lack
of appropriate technologies and financing constraints are often interrelated . For example,
as noted at the regional implementation meeting, the lack of finance is limiting the
African countries' access to environmentally sound energy systems and cleaner
technologies .
Mr. Chairman,
Let me conclude by stressing that the achievement of sustainable development goals in
Africa requires an effective partnership between the African countries and their
development partners . Enhanced and more effective development aid, market access, as
well as support in capacity building and technology transfer, are vital preconditions for
Africa's development . On our side, the African countries are committed to ensuring that
the assistance received from our development partners is used in an efficient and
effective manner. In this context, I would also like to stress the importance of supporting
effective partnerships within Africa . As noted by the Secretary-General's report, regional
cooperation within the framework of NEPAD has brought good results . In this
connection, it is important to increase support to regional development initiatives, such as
NEPAD.
My sincere hope is that the current review session will provide the platform for the
adoption of policy measures at the next policy session, which will adequately address the
concerns and needs of the African countries and enable them to advance towards
achieving their sustainable development goals .
I thank you Mr . Chairman.
Stakeholders