Latest news with #ÉlianeUbalijoro
Scoop
03-07-2025
- Science
- Scoop
Experts Call For Increased Climate Finance To Power Locally Led Adaptation Initiatives
Despite its minimal contribution to global emissions, Africa faces some of the most severe consequences of climate change. They include rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, intense floods, low agricultural yields and shrinking water resources. These escalating climate impacts are compounding existing vulnerabilities, fuelling food insecurity, displacement, and health crises across the continent. In response, experts are calling for a sharp increase in climate finance to support locally led adaptation efforts grounded in science, inclusive policy dialogue, and strong community engagement. African leaders, scientists, youth activists and faith-based organizations at a landmark climate resilience conference in Nairobi have issued an urgent call for a significant increase in climate finance to support locally-led adaptation and resilience-building across the continent. The appeal comes amid mounting concern that communities on the frontlines of climate change – such as in Africa- continue to be sidelined by conventional financing models and global inaction. The conference, titled Vatican African Conference on Climate Resilience, was convened under the auspices of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences (PAS), Pontifical Academies of Sciences Social Sciences (PASS), in partnership with CIFOR-ICRAF, the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC)and a wide range of African stakeholders. It follows on the momentum of the 2023 African Climate Summit and the Africa Youth Climate Assembly Declaration. 'We have all witnessed the devastating effects of climate change — from prolonged droughts to catastrophic floods that are disrupting livelihoods and ecosystems in Africa. The time to act is now. But without adequate and timely resources reaching communities on the frontlines, even the most ambitious strategies will remain words on paper. Action must be matched with investment if we are to build lasting resilience,' said Dr Éliane Ubalijoro, CEO of CIFOR-ICRAF. During the conference, participants stressed that direct access to finance for cities and local governments is essential, alongside the development of innovative financial instruments tailored to Africa's unique needs. Local authorities, they said, must be empowered—not only with funding, but also with decision-making authority and technical capacity—to design and implement tailored adaptation strategies that respond to the lived realities of their people 'Weak institutional coordination, limited access to financial resources, and inadequate technical capacity hinder effective climate change adaptation and resilience-building efforts. These challenges highlight the need for increased support, funding, and capacity building to help Africa adapt to climate change and build resilience,' said Dr Wilber Ottichilo, Governor of Vihiga County and Chair of the Environment, Forestry and Climate Change Committee of the Council of Governors in Kenya. Experts also reaffirmed that climate action must be guided by strong science, inclusive policy dialogue, and meaningful community engagement. Africa's academies of science, Indigenous knowledge holders, faith-based groups, and civil society organizations were recognized for the important roles they play in ensuring solutions are rooted in local realities. 'Africa can achieve climate resilience when action-oriented alliances of local governments, civil society, science, farming communities and business are formed, and supported by increased volume and quality of adaptation finance,'noted Dr Joachim von Braun, President of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. Dr Jacqueline Kado, the Executive Director of the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC) added, 'Africa's resilience journey must be science-informed, locally led, justice-grounded, youth-driven and community-rooted.' The urgent need to build resilience in food, land and water systems was also a key takeaway from the conference. Speakers emphasized that integrated land use planning, climate-smart agriculture and water harvesting are powerful drivers of change—especially when grounded in African research and local innovation. Nature-based solutions such as forest conservation, tree planting, reforestation and eco-friendly infrastructure were also highlighted as cost-effective approaches that align with both scientific evidence and the cultural and spiritual values of African communities. In response, local government representatives at the conference committed to developing city- and county- or province-specific resilience blueprints, in collaboration with financial institutions. These blueprints will include clear implementation pathways. They will also prioritize nature-based solutions, agroecological transitions, climate-resilient infrastructure and strong community ownership. On disaster preparedness, participants called for improved early warning systems and recovery mechanisms, including insurance for vulnerable populations. Climate-induced migration, they warned, must be addressed holistically, recognising its human rights dimensions and structural drivers. A cornerstone of the discussions was the Mitigation, Adaptation, and Societal Transformation (MAST) framework, which the conference adopted as a foundational pillar for advancing climate resilience in Africa. Speakers emphasized that climate change mitigation must align with justice and development rights, while adaptation must be prioritized given the continent's acute exposure to climate risks. In addition, they noted that societal transformation must drive institutional, behavioural and structural shifts toward sustainability and equity. Youth voices were central throughout the event, particularly through the Youth MAST Dialogues, which presented bold visions for change and called for genuine intergenerational collaboration. 'There is nothing about us, without us. And our time is now. We urge policymakers, development institutions, and knowledge networks to make climate knowledge products, tools, and financial resources widely accessible—particularly to vulnerable populations—to bridge inequality gaps and ensure no one is left behind in the transition to a climate-resilient future,' said Valerie Nutakor, who was among the youth representatives at the conference. Faith-based institutions and civil society were also recognized for their moral leadership and grassroots reach. Inspired by Pope Francis' 2024 call for a Universal Protocol of Resilience, delegates echoed the need for ethical urgency, solidarity and planetary stewardship. They concurred that faith actors are uniquely positioned to galvanize public support, shift values and sustain community-led action. 'Climate change is not an isolated environmental issue. It is an existential, spiritual and geopolitical challenge that calls for moral clarity and united global action. We are interconnected-not only through markets and media, but through the air we breathe, the rivers we drink from and the planetary systems that sustain life,' said Archbishop Philip Anyolo, the Archbishop of Nairobi and head of the Catholic Church in Kenya. 'The Earth is a garden meant to be tended with care. We must move from stewards of creation to carers of creation. What we received with beauty and life, we must not pass on as wilderness,' said His Eminence Cardinal Peter Turkson, the Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences (PASS). The Nairobi gathering also committed to launching structured, science-informed policy dialogues to track resilience progress, foster peer learning and prepare regional contributions for COP30 in Brazil and the Final Vatican Resilience Summit in 2027. 'In California and Massachusetts earlier this year, in Kenya today, and at seven future summits in Austria, Brazil, China, Japan, India, Rome and Oceania, governors, mayors, scientists, Indigenous leaders, youths and civil society actors will convene and chart pathways forward toward a healed, sustainable and more humane future,' said Suárez-Orozco, Member of the Council of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts, Boston.
San Francisco Chronicle
19-06-2025
- Science
- San Francisco Chronicle
Want to plant trees to offset fossil fuels? You'd need all of North and Central America, study finds
Planting trees has plenty of benefits, but this popular carbon-removal method alone can't possibly counteract the planet-warming emissions caused by the world's largest fossil-fuel companies. To do that, trees would have to cover the entire land mass of North and Central America, according to a study out Thursday. Many respected climate scientists and institutions say removing carbon emissions — not just reducing them — is essential to tackling climate change. And trees remove carbon simply by "breathing." But crunching the numbers, researchers found that the trees' collective ability to remove carbon through photosynthesis can't stand up to the potential emissions from the fossil fuel reserves of the 200 largest oil, gas and coal fuel companies — there's not enough available land on Earth to feasibly accomplish that. And even if there were, if those 200 companies had to pay for planting all those trees, it would cost $10.8 trillion, more than their entire combined market valuation of $7.01 trillion. The researchers also determined that the companies would be in the red if they were responsible for the social costs of the carbon in their reserves, which scientists compute around $185 per metric ton of carbon dioxide. 'The general public maybe understand offsetting to be a sort of magic eraser, and that's just not where we're at,' said Nina Friggens, a research fellow at the University of Exeter who co-authored the paper published in Communications Earth & Environment, a Nature Portfolio journal. Carbon offsetting essentially means investing in tree planting or other environmental projects to attempt to compensate for carbon emissions. Trees are one of the cheapest ways to do this because they naturally suck up planet-warming carbon. Fossil fuel corporations, along with other companies and institutions, have promoted tree-planting as key part of carbon offset programs in recent years. For example, TotalEnergies, a global energy company, said in a statement that it is 'investing heavily in carbon capture and storage (CCS) and nature-based solutions (NBS) projects.' To do their calculations, the researchers looked at the 200 largest holders of fossil fuel reserves — the fuel that companies promise shareholders they can extract in the future — and calculated how much carbon dioxide would be released if this fuel is burned. The researchers also focused solely on tree planting because the expense and technological development needed for other forms of carbon capture are still mostly cost-prohibitive. Forestry expert Éliane Ubalijoro, who was not involved with the research, called the study 'elegant.' It 'gives people a sense of proportion around carbon,' said Ubalijoro, CEO of CIFOR-ICRAF, an international forestry research center. But she cautioned against oversimplifying the equation by looking only at carbon capture, noting that tree planting done right can foster food security and biodiversity and protect communities from natural disasters. The paper effectively makes the point that it's financially impossible to offset enough carbon to compensate for future fossil fuel burning, said Daphne Yin, director of land policy at Carbon180, where her team advocates for U.S. policy support for land-based carbon removal. And the idea that companies would ever be required to account for the downstream emissions from the fossil fuel they extract is a 'fantasy,' she said. The idea of planting trees is appealing to the public and to politicians because it's tangible — people can literally see the carbon being incorporated into branches and leaves as a tree grows, Friggens said. But she says other methods shouldn't be overlooked — microbes underground store carbon too, but they can't be seen. And it's a physically and mathematically inescapable fact, illustrated in part by this study, that there's no getting around it — we have to stop emitting carbon, said Jonathan Foley, the executive director of Project Drawdown, who also was not part of the study. Carbon emissions are like an overflowing bathtub, he says: Before you start cleaning up, you have to turn off the water. 'Trees are the sponges and the mops we use to clean up the mess," he said. "But if the taps are still running and the water's pouring out over the edges of your bathtub, destroying your bathroom and your home, maybe you've got to learn to turn off the taps too.' ___ ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Boston Globe
19-06-2025
- Science
- Boston Globe
Want to plant trees to offset fossil fuels? You'd need all of North and Central America, study finds.
'The general public maybe understand offsetting to be a sort of magic eraser, and that's just not where we're at,' said Nina Friggens, a research fellow at the University of Exeter who co-authored the paper published in Communications Earth & Environment, a Nature Portfolio journal. Advertisement Carbon offsetting essentially means investing in tree planting or other environmental projects to attempt to compensate for carbon emissions. Trees are one of the cheapest ways to do this because they naturally suck up planet-warming carbon. Fossil fuel corporations, along with other companies and institutions, have promoted tree-planting as key part of carbon offset programs in recent years. Advertisement For example, TotalEnergies, a global energy company, said in a statement that it is 'investing heavily in carbon capture and storage (CCS) and nature-based solutions (NBS) projects.' To do their calculations, the researchers looked at the 200 largest holders of fossil fuel reserves — the fuel that companies promise shareholders they can extract in the future — and calculated how much carbon dioxide would be released if this fuel is burned. The researchers also focused solely on tree planting because the expense and technological development needed for other forms of carbon capture are still mostly cost-prohibitive. Forestry expert Éliane Ubalijoro, who was not involved with the research, called the study 'elegant.' It 'gives people a sense of proportion around carbon,' said Ubalijoro, CEO of CIFOR-ICRAF, an international forestry research center. But she cautioned against oversimplifying the equation by looking only at carbon capture, noting that tree planting done right can foster food security and biodiversity and protect communities from natural disasters. The paper effectively makes the point that it's financially impossible to offset enough carbon to compensate for future fossil fuel burning, said Daphne Yin, director of land policy at Carbon180, where her team advocates for U.S. policy support for land-based carbon removal. And the idea that companies would ever be required to account for the downstream emissions from the fossil fuel they extract is a 'fantasy,' she said. The idea of planting trees is appealing to the public and to politicians because it's tangible — people can literally see the carbon being incorporated into branches and leaves as a tree grows, Friggens said. But she says other methods shouldn't be overlooked — microbes underground store carbon too, but they can't be seen. Advertisement And it's a physically and mathematically inescapable fact, illustrated in part by this study, that there's no getting around it — we have to stop emitting carbon, said Jonathan Foley, the executive director of Project Drawdown, who also was not part of the study. Carbon emissions are like an overflowing bathtub, he says: Before you start cleaning up, you have to turn off the water. 'Trees are the sponges and the mops we use to clean up the mess,' he said. 'But if the taps are still running and the water's pouring out over the edges of your bathtub, destroying your bathroom and your home, maybe you've got to learn to turn off the taps too.'
Winnipeg Free Press
19-06-2025
- Science
- Winnipeg Free Press
Want to plant trees to offset fossil fuels? You'd need all of North and Central America, study finds
Planting trees has plenty of benefits, but this popular carbon-removal method alone can't possibly counteract the planet-warming emissions caused by the world's largest fossil-fuel companies. To do that, trees would have to cover the entire land mass of North and Central America, according to a study out Thursday. Many respected climate scientists and institutions say removing carbon emissions — not just reducing them — is essential to tackling climate change. And trees remove carbon simply by 'breathing.' But crunching the numbers, researchers found that the trees' collective ability to remove carbon through photosynthesis can't stand up to the potential emissions from the fossil fuel reserves of the 200 largest oil, gas and coal fuel companies — there's not enough available land on Earth to feasibly accomplish that. And even if there were, if those 200 companies had to pay for planting all those trees, it would cost $10.8 trillion, more than their entire combined market valuation of $7.01 trillion. The researchers also determined that the companies would be in the red if they were responsible for the social costs of the carbon in their reserves, which scientists compute around $185 per metric ton of carbon dioxide. 'The general public maybe understand offsetting to be a sort of magic eraser, and that's just not where we're at,' said Nina Friggens, a research fellow at the University of Exeter who co-authored the paper published in Communications Earth & Environment, a Nature Portfolio journal. Carbon offsetting essentially means investing in tree planting or other environmental projects to attempt to compensate for carbon emissions. Trees are one of the cheapest ways to do this because they naturally suck up planet-warming carbon. Fossil fuel corporations, along with other companies and institutions, have promoted tree-planting as key part of carbon offset programs in recent years. For example, TotalEnergies, a global energy company, said in a statement that it is 'investing heavily in carbon capture and storage (CCS) and nature-based solutions (NBS) projects.' To do their calculations, the researchers looked at the 200 largest holders of fossil fuel reserves — the fuel that companies promise shareholders they can extract in the future — and calculated how much carbon dioxide would be released if this fuel is burned. The researchers also focused solely on tree planting because the expense and technological development needed for other forms of carbon capture are still mostly cost-prohibitive. Forestry expert Éliane Ubalijoro, who was not involved with the research, called the study 'elegant.' It 'gives people a sense of proportion around carbon,' said Ubalijoro, CEO of CIFOR-ICRAF, an international forestry research center. But she cautioned against oversimplifying the equation by looking only at carbon capture, noting that tree planting done right can foster food security and biodiversity and protect communities from natural disasters. The paper effectively makes the point that it's financially impossible to offset enough carbon to compensate for future fossil fuel burning, said Daphne Yin, director of land policy at Carbon180, where her team advocates for U.S. policy support for land-based carbon removal. And the idea that companies would ever be required to account for the downstream emissions from the fossil fuel they extract is a 'fantasy,' she said. The idea of planting trees is appealing to the public and to politicians because it's tangible — people can literally see the carbon being incorporated into branches and leaves as a tree grows, Friggens said. But she says other methods shouldn't be overlooked — microbes underground store carbon too, but they can't be seen. And it's a physically and mathematically inescapable fact, illustrated in part by this study, that there's no getting around it — we have to stop emitting carbon, said Jonathan Foley, the executive director of Project Drawdown, who also was not part of the study. Carbon emissions are like an overflowing bathtub, he says: Before you start cleaning up, you have to turn off the water. 'Trees are the sponges and the mops we use to clean up the mess,' he said. 'But if the taps are still running and the water's pouring out over the edges of your bathtub, destroying your bathroom and your home, maybe you've got to learn to turn off the taps too.' ___ Follow Melina Walling on X @MelinaWalling and Bluesky @ ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
The Guardian
27-02-2025
- Science
- The Guardian
More than 100,000 African seeds put in Svalbard vault for safekeeping
More than 100,000 seeds from across Africa have been deposited in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, the world's repository for specimens intended to preserve crop diversity in the event of disaster. Among the latest additions are seeds critical to building climate resilience, such as the tree Faidherbia albida, which turns nitrogen into ammonia and nitrates, and Cordia africana, the Sudan teak, a tree renowned for its strength and durability. The seeds, from 177 different species, were delivered to the Norwegian vault on Tuesday by Dr Éliane Ubalijoro, the chief executive of the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (Cifor-Icraf). 'For me, seeds are about hope,' Ubalijoro said. 'They're about moving beyond survival, particularly when you come from places that have gone through really difficult times. When I think of my country of Rwanda and what happened in 1994, seed banks were critical when it came to rebuilding after the genocide.' Ubalijoro said countries that had experienced disaster and conflict could emerge as leaders in the fight against climate breakdown. 'We understand the urgency,' she said. 'We understand what it is to go through deep despair and having to rebuild completely. It also creates personal stories which people who haven't gone through such collective traumas can relate to. It's this idea of having a seed bank for the planet. How we care collectively for each other, how we care for the biodiversity of our food systems is critical. 'We have areas in Asia, Africa and Latin America that go from drought to wetlands, so there's a huge opportunity to learn from the knowledge of Indigenous peoples to create the resilience we need.' It was also important to nurture environments where native trees could thrive, Ubalijoro said. 'If you plant trees in the wrong area, you risk creating what are called ecological deserts where local pollinators don't recognise or feed on those trees, and that actually decreases biodiversity.' She said recognising the significance of women's roles in agriculture was also important. 'In many countries in Africa, 60% of women or more participate in agriculture. We must ensure the biodiversity that is needed to protect these 'women's crops', and make sure they are prioritised,' she said. 'I'm a mother. I viscerally feel the need to preserve our planet's biodiversity. It's about creating the possibility of a greener, more resilient future together, and making sure the landscapes we cherish today continue to thrive for generations to come.' Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion Faidherbia albida An indigenous African tree that is known for its fast growth, Faidherbia albida can reach up to 30 metres tall. It is a much sought-after nitrogen-fixing tree, meaning it converts nitrogen found in the atmosphere into a form that can be used by plants, improving soil health and productivity and helping ecosystems adapt to change. Acacia polyacantha Also known as white thorn, Acacia polyacantha is a flowering tree that can grow to up to 25 metres in height. It has several medicinal uses including for treating snake bites and livestock infections such as salmonella. Its leaves also serve as fodder for cattle. Adansonia digitata The African baobab is the most widespread tree species of the adansonia species group. It is nutrient-rich and high in fibre, potassium, magnesium, iron, calcium, zinc and vitamin C. It also has anti-inflammatory properties and its leaves are used to treat kidney and bladder diseases, asthma, diarrhoea and insect bites. Sesbania sesbanSesbania sesban, also known as Egyptian riverhemp, has nitrogen fixation properties, meaning it can help with soil fertility and stabilisation. It is also a food source, with its leaves being used to feed livestock and its seeds fermented into tempeh. Its leaves have antiinflammatory, antioxidant and antiviral properties. Cordia africana A mid-sized, white-flowered evergreen tree, the Sudan teak is a valuable timber species native to Africa and part of the borage family. It is known for its strength, durability and resistance to moisture, decay and pests, and requires little maintenance when used for carpentry. It also bears edible fruit.
